Prime Minister Bizen

Chapter 56 The New Sixth Heaven Demon King

Digression: I’m really sorry, I’m working overtime temporarily, I get off work at 8:15, and I don’t get home until 9 o’clock to update. I’ll send you a 4500-word chapter. Thank you for your support.

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Takeuchi Hisaji almost pressed the whistle and came to Torakura to meet the Hideka. As soon as they met, he threw himself in front of the Hideka, crying with tears streaming down his face.
"The traitor Matsuda Motoaki, the traitor Nakamura Yorimune, betrayed the lord and cut off communication. I, Takeuchi Hisaji, thought I would never see the lord again."

Others may be deeply moved after seeing his acting skills and listening to his words, thinking that this man is a loyal man who is struggling to survive in the face of the siege from the north and the south.

Only the Hide family knew that Takeuchi Hisaji was present at the military meeting in the main hall that day. When he was in the warehouse, he didn't send troops to far away, which made it clear that he was ready to sell for a price.

It's just that this person's actions represent the attitude of the majority of Yuxiduo's wealthy family. The Xiu family can only learn from Cao Cao. Knowing that this person has rebellious intentions, they can only comfort this brother who is ten years older than himself.

The arrival of the Takeuchi family made Hideka's strategy behind the surprise attack on Yoshikawa's army smoother. It seems that Hisaji Takeuchi wanted to commit crimes and meritorious deeds. He asked the Takeuchi people who were familiar with the terrain to take the initiative to take up the vanguard position, and Hideka's permission was obtained.

The army arrived at Ichinose Castle at noon on February 2. After a short rest, it turned to the east and arrived at Harada Inariyama Castle. Since Harada Sadasa was participating in the battle under Sanxing Castle Oka Toshikatsu, there were only more than 8 Ming farmers and soldiers in the city. Guard with more than 50 female relatives.

Although the number was small, the female family members of the Harada family still chose Kaesong to entertain the Xiu family's troops as much as they could.In order to ensure the combat effectiveness under the Jinshan Castle, Xiujia still chose to rest here overnight before setting off. Also on this night, Xiujia received the exact information from Tsusue Sanzhicheng.

It turned out that Takano Sokichi's intelligence was not completely wrong. Yoshikawa Motoharu had indeed been staying in Yoshida-gun Yamashiro to attract attention, and he did not return to Izumo to prepare follow-up troops until the Battle of Misaku started.

This time, the 500 Yoshikawa Army under the command of the Tsuyama Castle is Yoshikawa Motoharu's eldest son Yoshikawa Motocho, who is under the guidance of Dewa Motoju and Amano Motomasa's two uncles, as the first team to attack Ukita.

The rebel army determined under Tsuyama Castle has a total of 600 members of the Nakamura family, 1100 members of the Kusakari family, 700 members of the Saito family, and a total of 7500 members of the Miura family army that has not been seen in Takada Castle.

The 1 follow-up troops of the Yoshikawa Legion have been directly led by Yoshikawa Motoharu, and have arrived at Hagoromo Ishijo, Hoki Country, and are expected to arrive at Tsuyama in about 2 days.

In addition, facing the oppression of the Oka Toshi family in Samsung City, although Motocho Yoshikawa wanted to quickly capture Tsuyama Castle, he was stopped by his two uncles, and the army retreated to Yuanzhuang Pavilion Castle, waiting for Yuanchun's follow-up reinforcements.

In terms of relatives, the current governor of the Miura family, Miura Sadahiro, should be the younger uncle of the Hide family. His elder brother, Miura Sadakatsu, was the first husband of the Hide family's mother, Fukunokata. The Zhi family who remarried after the Sancun family invaded Houcheng and died.

In return, the Nao family helped the Miura Sadahiro and Sadamori brothers take back Takata City, and gave them the 2.6 koku territory of Takata and Ida in Nishimizu. They were the most central allies of the Nao family from the beginning to the end ( But both parties are Urakami retainers).

After Ukita Nao's Kagakami family destroyed Urakami's family, the brothers Miura Sadhiro and Miura Sadamori have been guarding the front line against the Mori family as the bannermen of Nishimi. Hideya never doubted that the two of them would rebel.

This time, the Yoshikawa army drove straight in from Ida Castle. Hideo thought that Ida Castle was too small to resist and had already been conquered by the Yoshikawa army. However, according to the information from the ninja, the family crest of the Miura family still hung on Ida Castle.

Hideka, who had already arrived at Mizuo, decided to give Miura Sadahiro a chance. His ninja sent his own letter to Gao Tiancheng, asking the Miura family to send troops to block the entrance of Ida Castle, and organize the follow-up troops of the Yoshikawa family to enter Mizuo.

At the same time, since Motocho Yoshikawa had already retreated to the Yuanzhuang Pavilion, Hideka also sent a letter to Okarijo, asking him to lead Tsuyama Bei to press forward and surround the Yuanzhuang Pavilion.

天正十年（1582）2月10日秀家在绕路先一步攻下中村城后，留下竹内家为首的豪族部队1500人守备，自己则带领7000人前往院庄馆汇合已经包围城池的冈利家。

Yuanzhuangguan is a flat city, which cannot be defended, but Yoshikawa Motocho, relying on his father Yuanchun, is behind him, and intends to use himself as a bait to join his father Yuanchun to encircle and defeat Ukita's army, so he chose to station here.

Due to the small size of the village, the city can only accommodate 3000 troops. In desperation, his uncle Dewa Motoju led 2000 troops to station in Ludao Mountain in the north of the village. Stationed in the mountain city.

The three of them are the horns of each other, no matter which side is attacked, they can quickly support, which is why Gang Lisheng dare not surround the courtyard.

Hideka came from Iwaya Castle, and was first discovered by Saga Mountain Castle. Hideka knew that this city was stuck on the south bank of Ichikawa like a nail.

If this nail can be pulled out, it will not only deter the 5000 people in Bei'an, but also use it as a base to suppress the low-lying Yuanzhuang Pavilion.

It's just that the Saga Mountain City was built on the 180-meter Saga Mountain. The whole city was built next to the mountain, and there were 2000 defenders in the city.

Generally, the normal way to encounter this kind of situation is to besiege the city and starve it to death. When the food in the city is exhausted, they will open the city and surrender. However, the Xiu family does not have so much time to spend here. Yoshikawa Motoharu's reinforcements will arrive on the 2nd, and the Miura family guarding the pass is ambiguous. Unknown, he must capture the city as soon as possible.

The Xiu family was brainstorming in the formation, but these retainers really couldn't come up with any special ideas. Seeing that time was running out, the Xiu family could only decide to be cruel-fire attack!
"Fire attack? Does my lord mean that we should set fire arrows on the screen?" Hearing Hideka's suggestion, Togawa Hidean asked, "Excuse me, I just inspected and found that the screen was covered with wet mud. I'm afraid it's hard for fire arrows to ignite the city wall. Besides, there is a water source in the city, and a small fire can be extinguished quickly with 2000 people in the city."

"I don't mean to attack Saga Mountain City with fire, but to attack the entire Saga Mountain with fire." Xiujia said in a hasty tone with a blushing complexion.

Hideka's words were beyond everyone's expectations. Before that, only Oda Nobunaga had done such a thing. In today's era, it is easy to set fire, but it is extremely difficult to control the fire. The most important method is not to put out the fire with water, that is It was absolutely too late, but to use the fastest speed to open up a isolation zone to block the fire, and let the combustible materials in the area burn out.

In this age when manpower cannot control fire dragons, all the generals were surprised by Xiujia's suggestion.In fact, although Saga Mountain is relatively high, it is not the remnant of Mizusa Mountain Range.It is precisely a lonely mountain rising from the Jinshan plain, the Xiu family can block the spread of the fire relatively conveniently.

"Burn Mount Saga?" Ukita Tadaya confirmed the information to Hideka again.
"That's right, set fire to the mountain. Since they want to stay in Saga Mountain, let this Saga Mountain be their grave."

"What if the mountain is set on fire and the fire spreads all over Mizusa?" Togawa Hidean asked.

"Mount Saga, Gushan, is adjacent to the Shijiang River in the west and north. You don't have to worry about it. A 10-meter-wide isolation belt will be opened along the foot of the mountain on the southeast and southeast sides. It will be completed before sunset, and the mountain will be burned at night. The fire can be stopped, and sporadic sparks will fly by. , and can also detect and extinguish small fires in time."

Seeing that Xiujia had a clear plan in mind, Togawa Hidean stopped talking and waited for Xiujia's order.

"Balang, there are still 2000 lives in the city. Setting fire to the mountain will hurt the peace of heaven!" As the uncle of the Xiu family, the Zhong family still wants to persuade the Xiu family. The mountain brings misfortune, and the eager loyal family even blurted out the nickname of the Xiu family, which is extremely disrespected in the army.

"The Yuxi family is suffering enough. My father died before he started his business. If there are any evil spirits, just ask me for your life!" I am the head of the Yuxi family, I gave the order, and I will bear all the freedom!"

Xiujia was in a hurry, he had no time to spend here, so his tone was a bit unfriendly, and Zhongjia was also frightened by Xiujia's flushed face and eyes, and wanted to say something, but finally he sighed and didn't say anything.

Seeing that the generals had no objections, the Xiu family began to assign tasks. Except for the banner team and the attendant team who were guarding at Shikawaguchi to monitor Saga Mountain City, the other 6500 people were scattered to open up a isolation zone.

After the development was completed, they directly guarded the foot of the mountain to prevent the Maori army from descending the mountain. The Xiu family directly issued an order to kill all those who descended the mountain.

The defenders of Saga Mountain Castle looked at the Ukita Army at the bottom of the mountain and began to organize the land at the foot of the mountain. They thought they were preparing for a long-term siege, so they did not continue to pay attention. Some people even said, "It is rumored that Ukita Hideka's family will go to the city every day, maybe it is not bragging." joke.

As the sun gradually went down, the backup teams sent by the Xiu family sent messages one after another, saying that the isolation zone had been opened, and the Xiu family who received the reply directly ordered the backup teams to set fire to the mountain.

"Yuanzhuang City"

As the sun went down, Yuanzhuang Castle Yoshikawa Motocho relaxed in his heart. He finally dragged on for another day. As long as he dragged on for another 2 days, his father Yuanchun's troops would arrive, and it would be time for the family to counterattack.

Yoshikawa Motocho was not worried that Ukido would attack the city at night. After all, in this era, soldiers generally cannot see the environment clearly at night, and the possibility of night attack is too small.

Suddenly, a samurai outside the house rushed in front of Motocho Yoshikawa, "My lord, fire. Mount Saga is on fire!"

Yoshikawa Motocho ran out of the house from the palace, looking towards the southeast of Saga Mountain Castle, where there is no Saga Mountain Castle at this moment, the entire Saga Mountain is like a fire dragon, blazing everywhere.

From the flames on the other side of the river came cries of people, cries for help, and curses.Flames are burning towards Saga Mountain City from all directions, like a second sun.

The burning Saga Mountain Castle lit up the entire masterpiece, so that Miura Sadahiro, who was far away in Takata, saw the light behind the mountains and saw that the direction of burning was in the direction of Tsuyama. Like an ant on a hot pot, urgently order the eye to go to investigate the situation, a sudden unexpected situation.

The Xiu family at the foot of the mountain faced the heat wave of Mount Saga. When the fire first started, the army of Mount Saga once organized a breakout.

As a steep mountain city, Mount Saga has only two roads to go to and from the city. When the enemy forces attack the city, these two mountain roads will limit the deployment of the attacking troops. .

Hideo's Banner Guards and his entourage guarded the mountain pass strictly, and fought back with bows, arrows and iron cannons at the Maori army coming down the mountain road.

Hideka's battle fully refers to the Battle of Osaka at the end of the Tokugawa period. The Ukita Army, like the Zunwang Army in the Battle of Osaka, blocked the Maori army in the city on a small road, and used multiple angles to kill the Maori army from a long distance.

Seeing that the road was blocked, the Maori army could only retreat back against the flames, looking for another way to go down the mountain, but they were also blocked by Toyama Bei on the other side, causing heavy casualties.

The Maori army with nowhere to go was surrounded by fire on Mount Saga. Seeing the Maori army soldiers with nowhere to go, they cursed the Ukitata army with the most vicious words. For my own reasons, I brought 2000 Maori athletes to the place where they must die, and they were discouraged by seppuku.

The fire on Mt. Saga eventually killed most of the Maori army. A few people survived by jumping into Ichikawa from the cliff, but they also broke their legs and were captured by Ukido.

The entire Mount Saga is like a big oven, which burns Misaku in winter extremely hot, and the unknown barbecue aroma wafts from the mountain along the winter trade wind to the southeast. Only Ukita, who knows the source of the smell, can't stop vomiting with.

Even the Xiu family who gave the order was frightened by the scene in front of him. After all, he couldn't bear to cry because of his unfavorable conscience, but it was too late. If the Xiu family was given another chance, he might not give this order. Order.

The fire on Mt. Saga burned for a whole night, and there were still several open flames that were not extinguished until the next morning. On the other side of the river, Motocho Yoshikawa and Motoju Dewa stayed up all night until they saw the Ukita Army who started to cross the river the next day. They understand that the tide is over.

Even though they were not burned by the fire, the 3000 Maori troops and 2000 Misaka nobles on the other side of the river had already been shattered by the fire last night. Last night, some unbearable samurai led the ashigaru in their hometown to flee.

Early this morning, seeing the scorched hills on the opposite side and the Ukita army that had already begun to cross the river to encircle them, the coalition forces of the powerful clans camped in Lushan in the north were the first to fail, and those who did not abide by restraint began to collapse.

Kusakari Tadatsugu, the city lord of Yashou Castle, saw the arrival of Ukita Hideka, and directly turned against the water in Lushan, attacking Dewa Motoju, who was guarding here, hoping to exchange Dewa Motoju's head for Hideka's forgiveness.In the end, Dewa Motoju was able to escape under the desperate protection of his retainers.

However, with the retreat of the Maori armies on both wings, Yoshikawa Motocho already understood that the general situation was over. Heijo Insokan Castle was not so much a city as a larger courtyard, and it would never be able to defend against the attack of nearly 2 Ukita troops. .

Seeing that the general situation was over, Yuanchang Yoshikawa sent an envoy to Xiu's family, hoping that the entire Yoshikawa army in the city would retreat in exchange for his own seppuku as a condition.

The Xiu family is not allowed to fight to the death with Yoshikawa Motoharu in Meizuo. This battle has already killed one of his younger brothers. If he kills his eldest son, then the Yoshikawa family will really have to fight the Yuki family forever.

After thinking for a moment, he decided to exchange the lives of the soldiers in the city in exchange for the condition of preparing the cities of Aga County in China, including Jialong Castle and Saida Castle.

At this time, China is under the control of the Sanyo Legion, and Motoharu Yoshikawa needs to discuss with Takakage Kobayakawa about the exchange of the city. Finally, at the suggestion of Motocho Yoshikawa and Takaya Ukita, the Yoshikawa Army withdraws from Hagoromoishi Castle as a condition in exchange for 3000 yuan from Insho Castle. The rest of the lives.

The Ukita army escorted Yoshikawa Junlai all the way to the border of Mizusa and Hoki, and met Yoshikawa Motoharu who was blocked in the well by the "lived Miura Sadahiro".Yuan Chun, who received Yuan Chang's message, finally chose to accept the conditions, and the whole army retreated.

The Ukita Army was able to enter the Hagoromo Ishigi Castle of Hoki Country on February 2th, and obtained this fortress that came out. The loss of the Hagoromo Stone Castle threatened the Yoshikawa Army's food route to Inaba, and the losses in this battle were indeed too great, and the battle was always dead. The current Yoshikawa army had more than 20 people, and the 3000 Yoshikawa army who came back had no morale. Yoshikawa Motonharu simply reduced his troops and retreated to Toyama to recuperate.

With the spread of the story of Xiujia burning Saga Mountain, the legend that the head of the family is the resurrection of an evil spirit began to appear in the Ukita army. Regarding this absurd statement, Xiujia is not interested in explaining more. He has more important things to deal with, that is Taking advantage of this big victory, let's take a good look at those wealthy families in Yuxi's family.

(End of this chapter)