Prime Minister Bizen

The Hide family doesn't have the energy to play with his uncle Kazuki Aoki at the moment, he puts all his energy on Okazaki Castle, the last important city in the Tokugawa family's territory, and can only let his two sons go to wrestle with him.

Okubo Tadao is in charge of the cage city. His father Okubo Tadayo is a veteran minister who has followed Tokugawa Ieyasu since he started his family.

When Ishikawa was running away and Sakai Tadaji was feared because of the death of Matsudaira Nobuyasu, he was gradually relied on by Tokugawa Ieyasu.Although not as good as Ii Naotora, Sakakihara Yasunari and Honda Tadakatsu, they still occupy an important position in the Tokugawa family.

After Okubo Tadayo's death, the influence of the Okubo family in the hands of Okubo Tadao may have declined, but it is still the mainstay of the Tokugawa family.

This is why after Tokugawa Ieyasu left, he sent Sakakihara Yasumasa to his son Tokugawa Hidetada to help him guard Junfu, took Honda Tadaka to win Shangluo, and left Okubo Tadao to guard Okazaki.

What's interesting is that the relationship between Okubo Takane and Okubo Chang'an is a bit complicated. Okubo Chang'an was originally called Okubo Shin'an, but it was changed to Okubo's surname after marrying Okubo Tadao's adopted daughter.

What's more interesting is that Okubo Chang'an, who was in charge of the re-mining of Koshu Jinshan in the Tokugawa family, was captured by Takeda Hidenobu and is now in the Hideo formation.

So there was a drama where the son-in-law wrote to the father-in-law in the city to persuade him to surrender.

Okubo's reply was simple and rude, reprimanding Okubo Chang'an's behavior, and even said that he would make him and his cousin reconcile!
(Okubo Changan married the daughter of Okubo Tadami, who was Okubo Tadaki's cousin, and married as Okubo Tadaki's adopted daughter.)
It should be Okubo Tadao who deliberately mentioned his cousin's identity instead of his adopted daughter's identity here, which is enough to see that he really wants to deprive Okubo of Chang'an Okubo's Miao character and the possibility of inheriting Okubo's family.

Okubo Chang'an, who saw the reply, didn't have any particular regrets, Hideka even asked, "Aren't you sad that your father-in-law and wife are going to reconcile with you?"

Okubo Chang'an took the initiative to say, "If you can become a retainer of the Youfu, don't you still worry about not finding a suitable wife?"

This statement was unpopular in the Warring States Period when loyalty was the main character, but it made Xiujia who had already had a filter for him look at him with admiration.

People who value interests like this are often more loyal than those who are full of morality.

So the Xiu family directly stated, "That's right, I just need you to manage Jinshan in the country for me. Since Okubo Zhonglin doesn't recognize you as a son, you can simply change your surname back. Your original name is Dazang Clan, I will bestow Bianxiu again, and you will be called Dazang Xiuan from now on!"

Dazang Xiu'an, who was named by the Xiu family, was ecstatic. The Xiu family hadn't bestowed the word [Xiu] for many years. In his eyes, this was the importance that the Xiu family attached to him.

Before the Xiu family bestowed the word "Xiu" because they really valued them, after all, "Xiu" came from Guan Bai's name at that time.

However, since Hideyoshi's death, most of the names bestowed are the word "family". This is the behavior of Hideyoshi to exert their own influence meaningfully and downplay the influence of Toyotomi Hideyoshi.In this case, Dazang Xiu'an was bestowed with the character [Xiu], but it was a sign of alienation from the Xiu family.

Of course, both the word [Xiu] and the word [Jia] are taboos of the Xiu family, what the Xiu family values ​​is Dazang Xiu'an's ability, and there is no intention of accepting him as a close minister to get close to him.

On the contrary, after Okubo Tadao refused to surrender, the issue of the fall of Okazaki Castle became the top priority.

The reason why Xiujia hesitated was because he was wondering whether to throw cannons in Okazaki Castle.Unlike the previous Hamamatsu Castle, there is still some distance from Noo Kinki after all, and it is impossible to send detailed information so clearly.

But Okazaki Castle is different, here is next to Noo, can Osaka and Tokugawa Ieyasu figure out the secret weapon in Hideka's hands?
The reason why Hideka chose to besiege and not attack so many cities in the previous Suruga battle, and used his body as bait to trick Tokugawa Hidetada out of the city was to hide the fact that there were artillery in Hideka's army, even if it leaked In addition, it is necessary to ensure the confidentiality of the information of the large-caliber artillery.

But when he was in Hamamatsu Castle, Honda Masazumi and his son Teriya's superiors forgot about this point, and Hideie still regrets it to this day.

The Xiu family repeatedly released false news in an attempt to hide the fact of the large-caliber Shenwei cannon. After finally coaxing both parties to believe it, he was not willing to make a fuss here in Okazaki Castle.

So how to take down Okazaki Castle without exposing too much strength is the question that Xiujia needs to think about now.

Fortunately, there are not many defenders in Okazaki Castle. Counting the original defenders and soldiers temporarily recruited by Okubo Tadane, the number is only about 6000.

On the contrary, Okazaki Castle has successively been built by Tokugawa and Tsutsui. Although it can't be said that it is a strong castle, it can be regarded as solid.

Wanting to break through the city in a conventional way would inevitably consume a great deal of energy and armaments. Now that a decisive battle was about to start, the Xiu family felt that this deal was not worth it.

Fortunately, although Okazaki Castle has not yet fallen, the Kariya Castle and Anjo Castle next to him are under the control of the Hide family, and even the Taka Castle in the east of Owari is also occupied by the Ashikaga family at the moment.

While Hideya was thinking, Kira Mori, the attendant beside him, woke Hideya up and asked, "My lord, Mr. Masatoshi Suga sent you to ask, after Kariya Castle is captured, will you launch a raid on Owari Kochita County?"

"Hitakusuke wants to launch an offensive against Owari?"

Hideka just wanted to answer "go as long as you want", but after thinking about it, the current situation is different from the situation that Imakawa Yoshimoto faced back then.

Hideka’s current path to Luo is the same as the path Imakawa Yoshimoto used to deal with Oda Nobunaga back then. The difference is that Imakawa Yoshimoto still controlled most of Owari Chita County and a part of Aichi County, unlike The current Xiu family's mastery of these two lands is 0.

Although Yoshimoto Kinkawa had gradually adjusted and eroded the powers of Zhiduo County back then, letting them turn to him and be his pawn on the road to Shangluo.Now it seems reasonable for Masatoshi Suga to get the tail of Owari Nanbu before he takes down Okazaki.

But don't forget, back then Yoshimoto Imakawa faced Oda Nobunaga who could only mobilize 5000 soldiers, but now Hideka is facing an army of nearly 4 troops with Kazuki Aoki + Mitsunari Ishida.

The number of people is indeed not as large as that of the Xiu family, but it is still difficult for so many people to win easily.

Kazuki Aoki was the elder of Toyotomi Hidecho, and he stayed in Noo for several years. He was born in Owari and had a deep influence in Noo, which is why he was temporarily selected as the general manager of Noo Conscription here, the old officials of the local Toyotomi Hideji did not have much reason to resist.

Those who control Nooo have enough soldiers to deploy. With the thousands of people in Masatoshi Suga's hands, not to mention whether they will encounter resistance when they take Zhita County, I am afraid they will collide with their reinforcements in half a day.

You must know that the bases of Aoki Kazuki and Ishida Mitsunari are set up in Narumi, and placing the base in such a front position makes it clear that it is necessary to fight the bayonet, even if they die, they must block Hideka from Mikawa to Owari Passage.

As the Chita Plain on the south side of Narumi Castle, everyone can see how important it is to Narumi. Will Narumi Castle let the Hide family know Ta-gun so calmly?Aren't they afraid to give Xiujia a new direction to break the city?
The most terrible thing is that as far as we know, there are not many defenders in Zhiduo County. This peninsula surrounded by the sea on three sides looks like a trap set by Narumi City for the Xiu family.

If Narumi Castle and Okazaki Castle were not removed, Hideka would be blocked in front of the Owari Gate.The name of Hideka Shangluo is not like Imagawa Yoshimoto, who can slowly fall into Owari's wealthy family in a few years.

The most important thing in this kind of thing is to go all out. Once the action slows down, the originally condensed hearts will be dispersed due to the increase in risks, and it will be Mitsuhide Akechi's end in the end.

Faced with this situation, Xiujia thought of the scene when he took a boat from Ise to Mikawa, so he took the initiative to ask the left and right: "How is the Kumano navy?"

But Tachihara Hisakuna's answer was: "A few days ago, I personally went to see Kuki Nagatomon, and his attitude was very firm, saying that Katafune of our family would not even try to cross Ise Bay."

"He's talking about a dream!" Xiujia said angrily, "I gave his father and him so many gifts in the past, and in the end he got this? Does he think that without him, I really have nothing to do with Isewan?" gone?"

"Go, send someone to send a letter to Endo to repair, let him bring his family's fleet to Sanhe, and go and fight with the Kumano Navy."

"My lord, forgive me." However, after his order was issued, Tachihara Hisakuna stopped him.

"Nowadays, the Toyotomi family is very afraid of you coming to Ise from Mikawa crossing the sea. It is not only the Kumano navy that blocked Ise Bay, but the navy of Murakami Michiki (younger brother of Mr. Kushima) and Wakisaka Yasuji also came from Seto. Neihai was transferred here.

Although most of them are just small boats, Ise Bay is full of hidden reefs, and the entrance is so narrow, it is a suitable place for small boats to travel.

My family is all big ships equipped with artillery, and the draft is deeper than them. It is not conducive to maneuvering in this kind of place. If they are led to the reef and hit the rocks, and then attacked by fire boats, the accumulated water army accumulated by the family for many years may be burned. .

What's more, the battlefield is just outside Sanhe, so the soldiers here can more or less get a general idea of ​​it. Once the battle is defeated, it will affect morale too much!

In my opinion, the ship can be transferred, but only for the blockade of the open sea.Since they don't want to come out, then don't come out. Hundreds of ships are just blocked in Ise Bay. "

After thinking for a while, Xiujia calmed down and accepted Tachihara Hisakuna's suggestion.However, it would be a bit embarrassing for the Xiu family not to be able to break through by sea, and the battlefield would return to a lifeless sit-down battle.

"Is there any news from Yamato?" After a moment of silence, the Xiu family sent out another soul torture. Where is the 1 army that Tsutsui Dingji has sworn to?"

"There is also Councilor Kobayakawa from Wakayama. I heard that he joined the Tokugawa army and started the siege of Okayama, right?"

This information was gradually transmitted back to Hideka after he defeated Hamamatsu. He originally thought that his speed was fairly fast, with Tsutsui Sadaji and Okakari leading the charge, and Fushimi and Otsu being blocked. Road, you can directly cut off the reinforcements in Osaka.

But I never thought that when I took down Hamamatsu Castle and asked about the situation in Kyoto, what I heard was the news that the two cities were struggling to support, and Tsutsui decided to stand still.

Three days later, the Hide family's main forces surrounded Okazaki, and the news of the fall of Otsu Castle also came, which finally made the Hide family become impatient.

Right now, only Kumano navy, Toyotomi's navy and Aoki Kazuki's thick-tailed corps are currently blocking Hideka's Shangluo Road.

Once Fushimi Castle falls, reinforcements from Kinki, Saikoku, Shikoku, and even Kyushu will continue to rush over. At that time, will the Hide family rely on Terumoto Mori and Hidehisa Toyotomi to block the way?

Besides, if the Xiu family can't open the situation on their own in this kind of national war, how much use will those who want to delay the progress of the opponent stay behind?
Now that the situation has been delayed, the Xiu family will naturally transfer their anger to other matters.

Especially Tsutsui Sadaji, Xiujia now even has the heart to kill him.

The Xiu family sent all their sons there!

He has always placed him at the forefront of his ally list, thinking that he will never betray his ally.He even felt that even if Tsutsui Joji wanted to backstab himself, the other party would not believe it.

But now Tsutsui Joji did not act according to the agreement, resulting in insufficient soldiers in Fushimi and Otsu. It is an indisputable fact that Otsu Castle fell. Although he did not express his support for Osaka, Hideka was already very dissatisfied with him.

At this moment, there was another commotion outside, and an envoy came in anxiously on a horse, knelt down in front of the Xiu family in a panic and said, "My lord, what a disaster!"

"What's going on, speak slowly."

Although Xiujia asked him to speak slowly, seeing his situation, he still wanted to know what happened urgently.

The samurai swallowed his saliva and said, "I'm from Kariya, there's news from Narumi that they said."

"Don't hesitate, what did they say?"

"They said that the Osaka side has already issued a crusade order against the lord, defining you as a rebellious traitor, and removing you and His Highness Koriyama from the Toyotomi family tree!

They also said that the capital has deprived the Lord of all the rewards, and they want to issue accusations against you, Lord, against the enemy! "

After the samurai finished the news, the hall fell silent instantly, and even the outside of the hall became quiet. The only sound in the entire shogunate was the sound of the autumn wind blowing the curtains of the shogunate, which proved that not everyone was deaf.

When the samurai announced the news, Yoshishige Satake, Hidemasa Nakagawa, Kane Ukita, and Hidenobu Takeda were all present in the shogunate of the Hideo family. Everyone's eyes exchanged with each other in a short time, exchanging opinions like a telegraph .

Finally, they looked at Xiujia in unison, hoping to get an answer from Xiujia.

"Facing the enemy?" Xiujia murmured