Prime Minister Bizen

Chapter 346
Hideka looked at Tachibana Soshige, his originally handsome face had become extremely sharp, his eye sockets were sunken due to malnutrition, if he hadn't taken the initiative to speak up, Hideka wouldn't have even recognized that this person was Tachibana Zongshige.

Looking at the man in front of him, Xiujia asked in surprise, "Are you Hida Mori?"

Tachibana Muneshige also responded excitedly, "Yes, Your Highness, I have been guarding Tachibana Mountain City for so long, and I finally expect you to come."

When the Hide family was dismounted, the two talked to each other like friends they hadn't seen for many years, especially Tachibana Muneshige's fight against the Shimadzu family over the past year. When talking about the death of his own father Shaoyun Takahashi at the end of July, Tachibana Muneshige fell into silence for a moment.

In fact, everyone knows that when facing the Shimadzu family's 5 army, it is not bad just because the Tachibana Takahashi family, which has thousands of people, does not surrender.

However, Tachibana Muneshige persisted for more than half a year by fighting guerrillas. During this period, he continued to launch surprise attacks on the enemy's Harada Nobutek and Akizuki Tanaga, killing thousands of enemies. Changing hands back and forth made the Shimadzu family exhausted and tied down a lot of vital forces.

Tachibana Muneshige's level of strategy and tactics is beyond this era. If it weren't for the mistakes of his team in the Sekigahara period, Hideka in the previous life even thought that this person might have traveled from later generations, so he would have these visions and tactics that transcended the times. idea.

Hideka shook Tachibana Soshige's hand and encouraged, "Everything will be fine. I will truthfully report the achievements of you and the master Shanzheng (Takahashi Shaoyun) to His Highness Guan Bai, and His Highness Guan Bai will definitely reward you based on your merits."

Later, under the leadership of Muneshige Tachibana, Hideka followed him to Mount Tachibana Castle.Hideka was looking forward to seeing the first warrior of the Warring States Period, Tachibana Chiyo, but he was not in the city.

After all, the guerrilla Tachibana Muneshige was an existence that could even give up Tachibana Mountain Castle. It was also because Shimadzu and Toyotomi Hidecho had a decisive battle in Bungzen last month, and a large number of troops were transferred to allow them to recapture Tachibana Mountain Castle. As the female castellan of Tachibanayama Castle, Tachibana Chiyo is not here, but in Yoneyama Castle to the southeast of Tachibanayama Castle.

Tachibana Muneshige wanted to entertain the Hide family, but they did not have a solid backward base for guerrilla warfare all day long. They relied on looting Shimadzu's grain transport team to obtain supplies. After more than a month of siege, the supplies had already been consumed. They were exhausted, so they could only take out seaweed rice balls for entertainment.

Although the dry seaweed rice balls were not tasty, Xiujia did not dislike them, and even took the initiative to share with Tachibana Zongshige the dried meat that Yukido brought with him during the march.

After the meal, Hideka suggested to Tachibana Muneshige, "The meal has already been used up, does Hida Mamoru have any ideas for the next step?"

The reason why the Hide family asked this question is because in history, after the reinforcements sent by Toyotomi Hideyoshi from the Mori family came, and after recapturing Tachibanayama Castle, they led 1 troops to pursue the Shimadzu army to the Chikugo River to discuss After taking more than a hundred heads, he captured Hoshino Yoshimi and Hoshino Yoshikan's Takatorii Castle with fire, and took back his father's residence city Iwaya Castle and Homan Castle from Qiuyuefang.

Although for some reason, the historical trajectory has deviated, Shimadzu Tadacho has even taken the initiative to retreat and stick to the Tara River. At this moment, he has established a semi-permanent position in southern Sichuan, and has lost the sudden thought of a surprise attack.

If you want to expand the Warring States period, it is already difficult to push the front line forward, so Hideka took the initiative to ask the local native Tachibana Muneshige if there is a strategy to defeat the enemy.

Tachibana Soshige first asked the Xiu family about the number of people and equipment in their army, and then offered advice to the Xiu family, "Does Your Highness know about Mizhishan Castle?"

"I don't know," Xiujia replied honestly, and then asked the left and right to get a map, and began to search in the map.

However, the maps of this era, even the whole map of Chikugo, are not very detailed. Only the main peaks, rivers and cities are marked on it. Some small towns are not marked on the map, so Xiujia searched left and right and couldn’t find it. .

In the end, Tachibana Muneshige pointed to a mountainous area on the south bank of the upper reaches of the Tara River and said, "The rice mountain castle is here. Before Tachibana mountain castle was taken back, I once stationed here, and now Uchiko Hichiyo leads 300 people to guard."

Hideka seemed to understand what he was thinking, and asked him for clarification, "You mean your wife Tachibana Chiyo will cooperate to attack the enemy from the upper reaches?"

"Yes, and no," Tachibana Muneshige responded, "There are many tributaries in the upper reaches of the Tara River, and it is hard to guarantee that Shimadzu will not garrison soldiers in that city.

By the time the large forces of our army turn in, the defenders stationed in Mingniao City, Baoman City, and Rock House City may have already received the news, and then the raid will turn into an encounter again.

So my suggestion is to send a small group of troops to cross the river from the upper reaches, sweep the sporadic strongholds, and after dark, the army will go down the river from the upper reaches, and cooperate with the small group of troops that have already crossed the river to attack Shimadzu, who is stationed on the front line of the south bank of Taliang River. The army launched a surprise attack.

Of course, this also requires a prerequisite, that is, His Highness needs to lead the main force on the north bank to welcome the attention of the place, so as to mobilize the troops at other ferry crossings. "

After a little thought, Hideka agreed to Tachibana Muneshige's plan, and asked him to lead 1500 Tachibana Chiyo troops from the headquarter connected to Yoneyama Castle to be in charge of the upstream stronghold sweeping plan, and at the same time add 2200 people led by Todo Takatora to him.

At the same time, the first team of more than 3000 people led by Ukita Kanjia was ordered to go down the upper reaches of the Tara River on rafts, and cooperate with Tachibana Muneshige on the opposite bank to launch a surprise attack on the Shimadzu Army stationed on the front line of the Tara River.

After the plan was agreed, it began to be implemented, and the army marched forward to the north bank of Duoliang River to stand by.

Since the Tara River is not far from Hakata, only about 4 miles north of Hakata, the battle between Toyotomi and General Shimadzu with 4 soldiers on both sides of the Tara River naturally attracted the attention of Hakata citizens.

Even this grand battle attracted the attention of the Portuguese in Hakata Town. What's more, the ships sailed out of the anchorage, and the Nagara Riverguchi in Hakata Bay watched the battle on both sides at close range.

However, the situation on the first day disappointed all the observers on the sea. The Toyotomi army led by Ukita did not take any further actions after stationing at Maimatatsuhara on the north bank of the Taliang River. Instead, they began to build fortifications on the north bank of the Taliang River. It is to plan for long-term confrontation.

After Hideka settled down on the north bank of the Tara River, he did not move for a full 7 days. The purpose was to buy time for the Ukita Kan family to log and make rafts.

At about the same time as the raft was being made, Tachibana Muneshige and Todo Takatora began to demolish the Shimadzu family castle on the south bank of the upper reaches of the Tara River.

On the night of January 15th in the 1587th year of Tensho ([-]), after everything was ready, Kane Ukita, Takatora Todo, and Munemo Tachibana traveled downstream from the upper reaches and began to launch a surprise attack on the Shimadzu barracks downstream.

Tachibana Muneshige and Fujido Takatora were in charge of attacking the Shimadzu camp at the intersection of the tributaries of the Tara River, wantonly setting fires and causing riots along the way.

At the same time, Ukita Kanemoto's team took a raft down the river and attacked the Shimadzu camp built by the famous bird castle on the south bank of the Taliang River near the mouth of the sea.

These rafts had reserved ropes in advance. After the Ukita Kan family landed, while the army was causing chaos, the soldiers who stayed on the rafts used these ropes to connect the rafts together, and a pontoon bridge was built on the Tara River.

The general guarding Mingniao Castle is Harada Nobuchu, a descendant of Han Xiandi's grandson Dongdu, who was originally a retainer of the Ouchi family, and has considerable influence in Chikuzen Shima and Yitu counties.

The Harada clan was subordinate to Ouchi-Otomo-Ryuzoji-Otomo successively, and his back and forth jumps made him dissatisfied with Otomo Zonglin, and his knowledge and practice were severely reduced when he surrendered for the last time.

At the peak, the Harada family could mobilize 3000 troops, but when they surrendered Otomo for the second time, they could only mobilize less than 1800 troops.

(It can be seen that Zhixing has been reduced from 7 shi to about 4.)
After the defeat of Otokawa, Harada Nobuchu could no longer hold back his inner restlessness, and he didn't mention Zhixing who was reduced because of his back and forth betrayal. Instead, he set off a rebellion on the grounds that Otomo's family bullied Harada, and only two months later he regained control of Morocco. , Yitu two counties.

Then he formed the Chikuzen Allied Forces with Munakata and Akizuki, and cooperated with Chikugo's Chikushi and other daimyos to attack Takahashi Shaoyun and Tachibana Dosetsu who were still holding on.

Of course, we all know that they are just a group of rabble. They fought three times in a row at the Battle of Chikugo River and were all defeated. In the end, it was the main force of the Shimadzu family who came to suppress the two war gods.

By dawn, six pontoon bridges had been built on the Tara River, and Hideka began to order the main force to cross the river, and defeated the Shimadzu army on the south bank of the Tara River that day. outside.

Originally, the residents of Hakata waited eagerly for a week, but the Toyotomi family on the opposite side had no intention of attacking except for building fortifications, and the residents gradually lost interest.

But who knew that just last night, the shouts of killing on both sides of the Nagara River resounded throughout the night, and a war broke out so suddenly.

Omachi in Japan has its own self-made merchant association, and Hakata is no exception. The merchants form their own system, and even hire ronin to form the town defense team, just like a free city in Europe.

If there is a difference, it is that Japanese towns are not as powerful as the free cities in Europe, and they still rely on the breath of their daimyo to live.

At daybreak, the garrison guarding Hakata Town saw a majestic team approaching from afar, flying an unfamiliar flag. After sending someone to inquire, they found out that it was a team from the Bizen Osafune family.

The captain of the defense hurried to the Hakata merchants to report, "It's not good, the Toyotomi family is calling, and they have already reached Hakata Town, and the Shimadzu family has collapsed."

The big and small merchants who received the news couldn't sleep, they gathered together to discuss countermeasures, including but not limited to the military expenses for Toyotomi's army.

But the facts are more serious than what the leader of the defense team said. The Shimadzu family's Taragawa defense line was breached by Ukita, and the Akizuki and other daimyo allied forces gathered here scattered and fled like wild ducks.

Nobuchu Harada, who was originally stationed at Mingtori Castle and felt safe, panicked. They are now surrounded by Toyotomi's army, and their number is more than 10 times their own.

He didn't have the talent of Tachibana Zongshige, so he thought he couldn't defend the famous bird city, so he took advantage of Ukita Hideo's house to cross the river, and sent people down to surrender the city.

Although the Harada family is descended from the Han people, the Hide family should have some kindness, but the assimilation of more than a thousand years has long made them forget their own habits, and they are even more Japanese than the Japanese.

The most important thing is that the Harada family's bouncing back and forth made the Xiu family very shameless. To put it bluntly, it means that whoever has milk is a mother.

Hideka wants to demand the rebel Harada Shinchuk to perform seppuku on the condition of saving the lives of the whole city.

However, Nobumune Harada himself is the son of Zhenyong Kusano, the adopted son of Takano Harada from the Kusano family after the death of his parents.

Harada Nobuchue finally rose from the position of the son of a retainer to the governor of the family, how could he be willing to abandon the glory and wealth that he had finally obtained.

More importantly, the retainers in the Harada family would not agree to the seppuku of the only male in the family, which is tantamount to cutting off the inheritance of the Harada family.

In the end, the Hide family came up with a plan to let Tachibana Muneshige's younger brother Takahashi Tomosuke join the Harada family and preserve his skills as much as possible. The old governor of the Harada family, Takashi Harada, agreed to the opening on the condition of Harada Nobuchu's seppuku. city.

The Hide family didn't discuss with Tachibana Zongshige when they set the conditions. At first Tachibana Zongshige refused very much. After all, Takahashi Shaoyun had only two sons of them. He has inherited Takahashi's family business, but now he is asked to go out and inherit another family, so what about Takahashi's family!

In the end, it was the Xiu family who talked about it, telling him that the brothers were still young, and they would naturally be able to go back and inherit the Takahashi clan after they had children, and that the Harada family now has a territory of 7 shi, and I will try my best to help them retain their skills, which is why I let him Agreed to adopt his younger brother to the Harada family.

It should be said that his younger brother is about the same age as the Xiu family, he is only 16 years old this year, when he was in high school in later generations, but now he is already a veteran who went to battle to kill the enemy.

Tachibana and Takahashi's family both had their own retainers. Although the Takahashi family's retainers lost a lot in the Battle of Iwaya Castle, the foundation was still there. The Hide family also helped him send a few retainers there out of "good intentions".

But now a new problem has arisen. The family business has been arranged, but the protagonist Takahashi Tozeng is not here. The reason for this needs to be explained.

It turned out that in February of the 14th year of Tensho (1586), after Takahashi Tozeng and Chikushi Guangmen's daughter Kanehime got married in Yuanfu, they were arranged by their father to be stationed in Baomancheng.

On July 7, when the Shimadzu army approached Homanjo, they first began to persuade them to surrender. Takahashi's retainers and Chikushi's retainers discussed this.

At this time Beiyuan Zhongxing said: "Under Shao Yungong, all the partners in Yanwu City died fighting for righteousness. How can we survive now? It is our wish to fight to the death!"

However, Ito Genemon said: "In the past, Minamoto Yoritomo rushed up from Hirushima and wiped out the Heike family. This time will not be the end of Tongzenggong. There will be a time when fate will come again. The remaining people like us should Accompany Tong Zenggong to support until then!"

After a round of meetings, Ito Genemon said to the Shimadzu family's envoy: "If you can agree to the peace agreement that allows Mr. Tong Zeng and his wife and Mrs. Shao Yun to arrive at Tachibana Mountain Castle safely, I will open the city just now. If you don't Promise, we will fight to the death!"

Although the Shimadzu army agreed, on August 8th they surrounded the group of Tongzeng who was going to Tachibanayama Castle, and sent them to the Hozudan Masashiki in Tenbaishan Musashi Village for house arrest. Ito Genemon was indignant about this. Said: "Is it the Shimadzu family's habit to make empty promises in front of Yumi!?" I couldn't help but shed tears of regret.

On August 8, Tong Zeng and others were transferred to Higo Yoshimatsu Town to be strictly monitored.

In other words, the current Takahashi Tozeng is still in the hands of the Shimadzu family. The Harada family knew about this, but the Hide family recruited a samurai of similar stature to pretend to be Takahashi Tozeng and tricked him into opening the castle.

After Nobuchu Harada performed seppuku in front of everyone, Hideka held Takashi Harada's hand and asked earnestly, "Well, do you know where Takahashi Tozeng was imprisoned by the Shimadzu family? The Harada family is looking for the home supervisor."

Takashi Harada is already 75 years old. He didn't know he had been tricked until he heard Hideka's questioning. He fainted immediately after being agitated. It took Hideka a long time to wake him up, and he learned from Harada's retainers. Approximate whereabouts of Takahashi Toizo.

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