Pillars of the Wu family

It was the sweltering heat of August, and a bloody fight was going on on the plain between Tone River and Tori River. Nagao Jinghu led more than [-] members of the Banner Hao family to hold the battle in person. On his left and right sides were The Kira family's Echiku reserve team, dressed in black uniforms, is waiting in line. Out of the more than [-] Echishi reserve teams, more than half are cavalry teams, and the other half are spear and shield teams. of light.

"The Yasuda team was defeated for a while, please kill Ida Book Assistant!"

"The Ayukawa team will be defeated for a while, and Takashiro Jiro Zuobei will be killed!"

The Edo people were hit by an unprecedented huge impact, and the more than five thousand people were defeated by a thousand troops of the Nagao Army, almost unable to hold their feet. If Hojo Ujiyasu really saw this scene, I am afraid He was so angry that he spurted blood.

Of course Toyama Tsunekage was worried about this possibility. In the astronomical chaos a few years ago, the lord of Kawagoe Castle Daidoji Morimsa burned himself to death, but he abandoned the castle and fled in Edo Castle, although Hojo Ujiyasu was not blamed afterwards. , but it is inevitable to be pointed and poked behind the scenes, especially the dissatisfaction expressed by his son-in-law Daosi Zhengfan towards him, which makes him very worried.

"Bastard! What kind of tactic is this!" Toyama Tsunakage has never seen such a strange tactic. The Ashigaru team spread out and rushed forward like a random attack, but they attacked in a very structured way, and they would take over the formation. The formation of the Ashgaru troops on the other side was disturbed, the impatient samurai charged forward, and the timid Ashgaru retreated backwards.

The unbearable Tsunakage Toyama decided to send a thousand cavalry team to try to outflank the long tail army's tyrannical ashigaru team from both wings. He has found that the two reserve teams have only more than three hundred cavalry, which is a good sign.

Changwei Jinghu, who was standing in front of the formation and inspecting the movement in front of him, had the first insight into this crisis.He snorted coldly and said, "The Beitiao Army is nothing more than that! The whole army goes out and follows me to defeat the enemy!"

When Nagao's conch blows.The one who rushed to the front was Saito Chaoxin leading a cavalry team of one thousand.His mount is a mighty and strong black Mutsu horse, which is slowly speeding up and galloping with its head raised and neighing.

Behind Saito Chaonobu, all the warriors on horseback gradually accelerated their riding speed. As the vanguard of the formation, he had been robbed for a long time, and his subordinates, one by one, were full of energy and speeded up the pace of their mounts, rumbling The sound of horseshoes sounded loudly, and it seemed that the posture was to give the Edo people a frontal impact.

"Be careful! That's the cavalry team of the Long Tail Army!"

The general who leads the cavalry team is Toyama Tsunakage's first son, the 24-year-old Hayato Sayasuke, who heard the warnings from his retainers and also found the Nagao cavalry team rushing forward.They were wearing black corsets, flying the Jiuyao Bajiawen flag on their backs, and an unfamiliar white chaotic dragon flag. As the speed of the long-tailed cavalry became faster and faster, that side fluttered in the gust of wind.

Countless black cavalrymen turned into a turbulent black tide and crazily rushed towards this side, Toyama Yasuke's complexion changed, and he shouted: "Follow me to block the long-tailed army, we must not let them charge! We must defeat them and make our Hojo family famous!"

"Ha!" The [-] Hojo cavalry warriors moved, as if a giant beast was slowly stretching his arms, and the navy blue armor was like a blue city wall blocking the long-tailed army under Hojo's three-scale flag. On the way, their posture was still accelerating.It seems that they plan to run into the Long Tail Army head-on.

Seeing this, Saito Asanobu laughed and said, "How courageous! My sons and daughters! Hojo has the courage to charge in front of us, are you afraid?"

"I don't know what to be afraid of!" The horse-riding warriors of the Nagao family roared in unison.

"Then follow me and rush over to kill them!" Saito Asanobu waved his horsewhip.Increase the speed a lot, and rush to the forefront of the team.

"This is a competition of wills! Zhao She said: The road is far and narrow, like two mice fighting in a cave, and the brave one wins." Changwei Jinghu deliberately slowed down to give the warriors a chance to show their bravery. There are no cowards in the Oe family, no brave fighters, and the samurai of Echigo are born warriors who shed blood on the battlefield. This is destined by the gods and Buddhas, and he has never had any doubts about this.

"It's getting closer..." The cavalry on both sides charged faster and faster, and the distance was getting closer and closer. Looking at the long-tailed cavalry shining in the distance, Yuan Shan Kangjing lost most of his courage at once, and reluctantly turned his head to look around at his own cavalry. The warriors were holding the reins tightly one by one, their faces pale as paper.

"...It's getting closer!" Yuanshan Kangjing has never seen the scene of cavalry hedging. He has lived under the protection of his father, the support of his retainers, and the trust of his lord since he was a child, just like a flower that thrives in a greenhouse. I always fantasize that one day I will become a unparalleled warrior like Dihuang Hachiman when I become famous.

In the past few years, I followed the Edo people several times and hid in the back to make soy sauce. After the situation became clear, I picked peaches and made a lot of achievements. I thought that the younger generation of the Hojo family was also the number one figure. Finally, I won the riding general from Hojo Ujiyasu. In this position, he decided to show his talents to realize his dream of being a famous general.

It wasn't until this moment that he realized how outrageously wrong he was. He never had the courage to risk his life. He is still young and only 24 years old this year. He has not yet married to carry on the family line of the Yuanshan family. He still has a bright future waiting for him To do it, he can be an excellent priest in Edo Castle, he can successfully take over as the lord of the city, and in the future he will marry the princess of the Hojo family as a disciple...

"That's why I can't die here! Absolutely not!" Toyama Yasuke shouted timidly: "Spread out to the left and right to outflank the Nagao Army's flanks!"

"Yes!" The 30 cavalry team divided their troops to the left and right as if they were being pardoned. When the distance between the two sides was less than [-] meters, they suddenly dispersed two irrelevant cavalry teams in the city, trying to avoid the long-tailed cavalry by this method. The team's frontal impact, but he made another fatal mistake.

When Saito Chaoxin saw the enemy troops splitting up, he was taken aback for a moment and then became furious: "You still want to hide! I, Chaoxin, misread you! Follow me to speed up and defeat the Hojo army!"

The [-] cavalry team had just separated halfway when they realized that the long-tailed cavalry team had rushed within ten meters. The cavalry warriors who were still separated turned over and fled in fright. The chaos of a few cavalry warriors caused chaos in the entire cavalry team.Several battered war horses collided with each other and fell to the ground.The result was a catastrophic collision.Dozens of warriors on horseback fell into a heap because of this, and the horses stumbled and trampled on the fallen warriors, screaming horribly.

"Kill!" Saito Chaoxin slammed into the formation waving a large gun. At the moment when the two armies collided, the cavalry warriors of the Hojo Army were in a mess. The samurai wanted to retreat, and the samurai on horseback standing behind wanted to move forward, and the samurai on horseback who were huddled together greeted a burst of bright white light.

For a moment, the mournful wailing and the neighing of the horses were mixed together.The bright red blood drifted around with the dull sound of cutting armor. Echigo's horse couldn't withstand the direct impact, and Yin Hong's blood sprayed out from its mouth and nose. Light and gun shadows form a terrifying and bloody Ukiyo-e.

"The brave live, and the cowardly die! Those who kill the enemy will be rewarded, and those who retreat will be killed!" After reading the sixteen-character mantra, Honjo Fanchang shouted: "Listen to my orders, target the fleeing Hojo cavalry on both wings, charge!"

"This kid is getting more and more fond of word-for-word!" Hojo Takahiro laughed and cursed, and Kurokawa Kiyomi urged the horses.The commander of the cavalry rushed to catch up, with Kiyomi Kurokawa as the commander of the ashigaru team.I could only watch helplessly as the cavalry rushed out, and sighed: "Why am I so unlucky, I have to get a red note in the lottery, is it because I secretly drank the sake that was enshrined to the gods and Buddhas at home?"

They are also black armored cavalry, but the difference is that the full body is more comprehensive and powerful than the body protection, and the difference is that the flags and objects are replaced by two Ashikaga cavalry. outflank, where there will be a hearty soup waiting for them to taste.

Regardless of the difference in the physical strength of the horses or the speed of charging, the cavalry team of the Edo people has lost the basis to compete with the cavalry team of the Kira Army. Saito Chaoxin of She was still unwilling to give up the opportunity to take advantage of the victory and pursue the chase. The middle of the two cavalry was bitten tightly and was unable to struggle.

At this time, Honjo Shigecho and Hojo Takahiro divided into two sections of the Hojo Army that outflanked the left and right and turned desperately. The charge is inertial. It takes a while to go from facing the northern long-tailed army to initiate a hedge, to outflanking the northeast and then turning back to fleeing south.

It is just that the current situation does not allow him to take such a long time to detour. In just a short moment, the cavalry team with a long village and a tall and wide area rushed in front of them. At that time, he was almost scared and almost fainted on the spot. The timid warrior could no longer muster up the courage to face the huge cavalry charge, not to mention that the enemy's cavalry warriors seemed to be more elite and stronger.

"Hurry up! Hurry up! It's too late, you bastard!" Yuanshan Kangjing desperately beat his mount, his legs tightly clamped the horse's belly, and he lay on the horse, trying to escape, but he had already escaped. The cavalry who were ready to go charged forward, and in the next moment, Honjo Shigeru ran into the defenseless Hojo Army who was on the side.

"Raise your cavalry gun! Charge!" Honzhuang shouted loudly, and the cavalry warrior who rushed to the front raised his big gun, and followed his shouting, and slashed at the Hojo army head-on. When the big gun pierced into his body , Blood and screams came at the same time. Skilled warriors knew why they could cut into the body and quickly pull out their large spears.

Honjo Shigeru held a gun in his right hand and beheaded a horse-riding samurai of the Hojo family, and his left hand did not hesitate to raise the sword and behead another samurai's head. He simply took out his hammer and saw the horse-riding samurai of the Hojo family, and greeted him with his head, and smashed all pockets with a hammer.

All of a sudden, the sharp sword continued to cut the loser's head, and the samurai who subconsciously raised his hand to resist was cut off with his arms and head, and the blood spurted on the black armor as if covered by a layer of dark red light, bloody The filthy air spread over the face, the white flag was stained red with blood, and dark red blood slowly flowed from the mane of the mount.

Yuanshan Kangjing was bitten by a terrifying horse-riding warrior. He was frantically urging his mount to run away, but this useless mount exhausted most of his energy in the violent running just now, even if he used the whip The bloody whipping of the mount could not stop the dilemma of running slower and slower.

When he felt rumbling vibrations coming from behind him, he hurriedly turned his head and looked back.All I saw was a flash of white light, and then a sharp pain came the next moment.The whole person floated high and saw blood spraying from under his body.Then plunge into darkness.

The situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly. When Ushiyasu Hojo commanded Five Colors to overwhelm the Minoru crowd with a huge advantage in force, the overall situation was very good. At this moment, an envoy covered in dust rushed to the front of the formation. Shouted: "The cavalry team is completely wiped out! Toyama Hayato is killed! Toyama Kai Shouden is seriously injured, and the Edo people are completely retreating!"

"What!" Hojo Shiyasu was taken aback, and his whole body was shocked by the news. It is unimaginable that the five thousand elite army collapsed before it lasted for half an hour.He stared straight at the envoy with unbelievable eyes, until the envoy repeated the information over and over again, and finally turned into a sigh: "Stop the attack, the whole army retreats in an orderly manner!"

The Hojo Army reacted immediately, and retreated resolutely, which was far beyond the expectations of the Nagao vassals. Facing the Matsuyama, Bogata, Xiaoji, Tamawa, and Miura crowds, they rushed over to fight like wolves and tigers. Standing in front of the retreating Edo crowd, the Nagao Army was forced to give up its plan to pursue.

The war didn't last long, and it took less than half a day before and after a battle was fought. When the two sides packed up their troops and retreated, the sunset was still so bright, and if they were too persistent, they would easily fall into a passive situation where the army went deep alone.Changwei Jinghu immediately ordered the withdrawal of troops to stop fighting because of his last resort. If he had an army of [-], he would definitely bite the Beitiao army to death.

Count the losses after the war.The Hojo family accompanied the Edo people and killed more than [-] people. Among them, [-] cavalry were besieged and killed by the two cavalry troops of the Nagao Army. Resisting the frontal Ashigaru assault, and being stalked by the long-tailed cavalry one after another, the city turned into a rout in the blink of an eye.

Toyama Tsunakage couldn't stand the blow of his eldest son's death in battle, and rushed towards the Nagao army frantically, and was severely injured by Saito Asanobu in a single encounter. I will explain it here today.

The other Chinese groups that rescued the Edo people were also injured at different levels, with a total battle loss of more than [-]. They took back all the little advantage they had gained from the Nagano family's Minin people, and the Hojo army retreated all the way to abandon the branch cities along the way. , Let the Nagao army capture several fortifications one after another, gradually threatening the point where the Hojo family's front line, Cangano Castle.

This war caused nearly [-]% of the damage to the Hojo family, and the overall strength loss was small, but the Edo people must be withdrawn to the rear and rebuilt. Toyama Tsunekage was severely injured and transferred to Odawara Castle to recuperate. In the blink of an eye, the strength of the two sides was once again pulled to [-] against [-], and the battle became more and more stalemate and difficult.

Since the end of the Tonegawa Battle, which lasted until the end of August, the two sides returned to the rhythm of probing the offensive. This time, everyone was very patient. Hojo Ujiyasu did not try to overwhelm the city with a large army, and the Nagao and Nagano coalition forces also gave up Hayate With the onslaught of fire, the situation has evolved into the most common and worst deadlock in the Warring States Period. The confrontation means that there is no better way to deal with the opponent, and they are unwilling to give up their respective strategic goals.

Some of these confrontations are simply stalemates, while others are accompanied by many small competitions. From the offensive and defensive battles of a few hundred people to the offensive and defensive exchanges of thousands of people in a joint battle, the war along the Tone River has not changed in more than ten days. It stopped until late August when a new incident forced Changwei Jinghu to respond.

"The Shirakura family actually surrendered to the Hojo family, and the Higashi Ueno Kiryu, Yamagami, and Yura clans switched to the Hojo family?" Nagano Ye was furious, and the beard and hair growled loudly: "Bastard! Why did Shirakura Michisa seek refuge with the Hojo family! In vain, I treat him like a brother! What an idiot!"

Since the establishment of the Muromachi Shogunate, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu ended the confrontation between the Northern and Southern Dynasties by himself, but Kanto started the 150-year Kanto Rebellion. During the endless wars, many famous families fell and many families rose one after another. Among them, the original native of Ueno, the Nitta clan It gradually died down, and was replaced by several officials from the Uesugi family in Yamauchi, who were collectively called the Shangzhou Eight Family.

The eight families in Shangzhou are Obata, Shirakura, Anzhong, Kuragano, Kiryu, Yura, Yamagami, and Numata. Among them, the four families of Obata, Baikura, Anzhong, and Kuragano are from West Ueno, Tongyu, and Yura The four families of Uesugi, Yamagami, and Numata are from Higashi Ueno, and they all belong to the Uesugi family in Yamauchi in name. In fact, the situation is far more complicated than imagined.

In addition, there are four families in the Ueno country who serve as the elders of Uesugi in Yamauchi, namely the Nagao family, the Oishi family, the Kobata family, and the Shirakura family.Neither the Shangzhou Bajia nor the Uesugi Sisu elders of the Nagano family were washed and lined up.Therefore, Nagano Industry is paying special attention to the diplomatic relations of these big families.

For example, Numata Yasushi, who did not rebel this time, is Nagano's son-in-law.In addition, Anzhong and Xiaoban are also the sons-in-law of Nagano Yemasa. The relationship between the two families, Cangano and Shirakura, is like brothers, but they are not so close to each other. But they repay Nagano Yemasa in this way at the critical moment. How can this veteran not be angry.

Nagano Yegu thought hard for a long time, and suddenly he clapped the table and shouted: "I guess this must be the Hojo Ujiyasu who borrowed the name of the Furukawa government to carry out the investigation! Higashi Ueno has always been close to the Furukawa government, as long as the current Furukawa family stands in the Hojo family Within the big camp, they cannot escape the influence of the Hojo family!"

"The current Furukawa Temple is nothing more than a puppet of the Hojo family! Didn't the Hojo Ujiyasu also use this method to control the Haru family back then? It's a good way to marry a daughter and a son-in-law!" What's so enviable about home.

Wada Yefan's interest was also aroused, and he said with a smile: "Since the current Furukawa Temple married the Hojo family, most of the people in the Kanto Kingdom have cut off contact with the Furukawa government. Being dragged onto the boat and unable to get off, I heard that there are so few people in Xiasuo Guhe City, so this Guhe Palace must be very embarrassing!"

"That Furukawa-den didn't mention his broken arm!" Nagano Kentada snorted coldly, and suddenly stood up and shouted: "Their betrayal must not be tolerated! Go out! Defeat them! Let them taste the taste of betrayal!"

Looking at the unbelievable look of the crowd, Nagano Kentada smiled silently, and moved from his home, Stablebridge Castle, to Minowa Castle, belonging to the members who were tied to the big ship of Nagao's house.The attitude has also changed from the original joint muddle to a particularly tough one: "Nowadays, only Kohata, Anzhong, and Numata of the eight families in Shangzhou persist in resisting. Two of these three are powerful samurai of Minowa. The other is also Shinano Mamoru The son-in-law of the palace, it can be seen that the Hojo family has lost my Ueno heart! Then I am loyal to ask you, why am I waiting for the Yuki Lang Party?"

"Defend the family leader!"

"Protect the home and keep the soil!"

The uneven answers of the samurai were unsatisfactory, and Nagano Kentada didn't care about their performance, and continued: "We are not only to encircle the clan leader, but also to defend the rights of us and other Ueno people! We belong to the Uesugi family. Naoko is not a retainer of the Hojo family. It is absolutely impossible for the Hojo family to replace the Uesugi family and surrender us! So today we are here to discuss the plan to defeat Hojo! Then, please brainstorm and solve this group of traitors! "

"Then let me talk about it first!" An Zhongyueqian Shou Zhongzheng said before seeing the situation is not good: "I have a proposal. It is not easy to defend the West Fourth County with our strength, so we can only ask Danzhengdian to help!"

Xiao Ban Xianzhong was the first to raise his arms and said, "I second this!"

Kentada Nagano did not expect it to be so smooth. Before he had time to lay the groundwork, Tadomasa Yasuka rushed to say the most important words before him. He could only regret it, and hurriedly raised his arms to echo: "I also Seconded!"

Looking at the dispirited look of the Chinese people, Nagano Yezheng suddenly felt that the Nishi Ueno National People's Group he had painstakingly managed was so fragile, and remembering that his identity was not from Shangzhou Bajia, he could only sigh secretly: "What I insist on What exactly is it? The leader of the people of the country or the complete control of Nishi Ueno? Now, there are Hojo in the south, Takeda in the west, and Nagao in the north. There are enemies in all directions. It is already so difficult to resist one with the strength of my Yamano countrymen. If What will happen if the three families carve up?"

The Nagano family has never been a powerful member of the Ueno country, until the generation of his father Kenei Nagano caught up with the Yamauchi Uesugi and the Echigo Nagao family, and Shirai Nagao and the head office Nagao returned to the Yamauchi Uesugi family as a joint effort and were recommended. , Later, he took this opportunity to show his martial arts, and continued to accumulate meritorious service to become the governor of the Nagano family and even the number one citizen in Nishi Ueno.

The disadvantage of the rocket’s speed increase is that it cannot get the full support of the Chinese people who are assigned to it. An alliance-like group of Chinese people needs a leader instead of a lord. Strong strength and extraordinary abilities made him, the father-in-law, unable to forcefully suppress him, worrying that if he was not careful, he would be opposed by his sons-in-law and lose face.

Now, the high-moralized Minoru people bumped into their heads in front of the five colors of the Hojo family. They were crushed and beaten by the Hojo army, and they lost hundreds of lives in vain. A subtle assault cooperation to save a little face.

This is a huge contrast to last year's blocking of the [-] Takeda Army. Many confident Chinese people were stunned at once. If it weren't for the plan of the survivors of the Hojo Army to defeat the Minowa Army and then deal with the Nagao Army, it happened that the Nagao Army After breaking all the way to gain the initiative on the battlefield, Nagano Yezheng couldn't guarantee whether he could withstand the onslaught of more than [-] Hojo troops.

"It seems that the people of our country can only use the cage city to wait for an opportunity to counterattack!" Nagano Karmasa said discouragedly: "Forget it! Send a letter of help to the main hall of the long-tailed bullet!" (To be continued...)