Pillars of the Wu family

Akagawa is the main stream between Tagawa County and Murayama County. It originates from Itodake near Echigo Kingdom. The upper reaches of Akagawa is another huge Gassan Lake near Nishikawa in Murayama County. This Gassan Lake is also Also known as Hanhejiang, the Hanhejiang Dajiang clan originated on the east bank of this lake.

There are many peaks on both sides of the Hanhe River, among which there is a very famous Bazhu Mountain. About the name of the highest Bazhu mountain originated from here. Near the five-color marsh on the west bank of Bazhu Mountain, a group of troops marched slowly along the mountain road. Their flags Disheveled and disheveled clothes, many people's heads and arms are still wrapped with blood-stained gauze. They are the retreating Date Army.

Date Huizong walked at the front of the team on his mount. His armor was neat and without any scars, but the smoky stains on the armor could not be covered for a while, and the overall image was a decadent one. The remnant soldiers were defeated, and behind him were more than [-] troops, all of whom were wounded and demoralized.

Speaking of which, the impact on the Date Army was relatively small, because the location of the big camp was relatively remote, so when the Kira Army launched a night attack, Date Huizong had enough time to respond. Yi led the red cavalry to Date's camp, and he had already escaped with his own army. If it wasn't for the unreasonable guy Takikawa Toki, relying on the speed of the cavalry, he was biting Date tightly. If the army doesn't let go, maybe he can get away with it all.

Just being bitten by Takigawa Tokimashi's red-backed cavalry almost caused Date's army to be made dumplings by more cavalry who came later. If it weren't for Date Huizong's decision to cut off his tail to survive at a critical moment, let alone let He exchanged the lives of 600 people for [-] people to escape, and even he himself would confess that he was outside Mipo City.

Seeing the sky gradually brighten.The army that only escaped death in the middle of the night was exhausted.Date Huizong ordered the army to rest in this five-color marsh.Ride the horse to the hillside and look at the beautiful lake created by nature. The blue waves are rippling in the morning breeze.

Wushinuma, also known as Zouwanggama, is a volcanic lake surrounded by the mountains between the 840-meter-high Mount Kumano and the 750-[-]-meter-high Kumano Mountain near Wushinuma. , and the reason why it is called five-colored marsh is that the lake water sees different colors at different times. There are several such five-colored marshes in Yuao, and they are all lakes formed by the accumulation of dead volcanoes. .

Date Mimoto walked over holding two rice balls wrapped in a lotus leaf.Said: "My lord, I'm tired after working around all day, eat something before going on my way!"

"I'm not tired, I'm not tired at all." Yida Huizong pursed his lips and forcibly stopped his tired body from shaking. How could he not be tired or hungry after running around all night, but now that he is the head of the family, he needs to keep up all the time. As the majesty of the house governor, even if he is tired and hungry, he still has to ride a horse here to enjoy the cool breeze. This is the only way the young house governor can do after a tragic failure.At least make yourself look stronger.

How much effect his childish actions can have, but his stomach is growling unsatisfactorily.Date Mimoto looked at Date Huizong's embarrassed expression, smiled and said: "My lord, I still have to eat something! There is still a long way to go, and I will try to return to Yonezawa as soon as possible. Until then, we're safe."

Date Huizong honestly jumped off the horse and started to gobble up the rice balls in his hands, but the majestic Date family governor only had breakfast for two rice balls, which seemed too shabby anyway, but they fled in a hurry and took a large amount of luggage and small packs. The Dutch team and their food and grass were all discarded in the big camp, and the rice balls could still be squeezed out through the teeth.

The night attack was so fast and urgent that everyone didn't have more time to react. Date Huizong could remember that it was not easy to retreat with a large army. Yudai escaped without putting on his clothes, and the waist bento he carried with him was also forgotten in the busyness, so most of the ashigaru could only go to the mountain to pick wild fruits and vegetables hungry, and some people ran to the Five Colors Swamp to catch them. Fire up the fish and make some hot food.

Eating two rice balls in three or two bites was only initially suppressing the hunger. For a half-grown child of his age, he could eat two more rice balls in three or two bites, but he didn't ask for more rice balls Eat, because he knows that the current rations must be very tight, and if he asks for it, he will definitely be satisfied, but in that case, maybe Date Mimoto will give him his share of rice balls. He would not do such a stupid thing for the sake of bad appetite.

Date Huizong forcibly looked away from the lotus leaf package, took a deep breath to forget the hunger in his stomach, and said: "My family doesn't understand why there are so many Kira soldiers. Didn't my father-in-law say that the Kira family must not Would you know? Our raid plan was flawless. The defeated army following Taibao Temple ambushed the Kira army, and then quickly blocked the port to cut off the Kira army's contact with Echigo. The siege of the city for a month and a half proved that our strategy was fine, otherwise the Kira family's The reinforcements have already arrived, so I don't understand why there is something wrong when there is no problem at all?"

Sitting cross-legged on the wet and cold hillside, Date Mimoto didn't mind what would happen to his distressed image for outsiders to see. He grabbed his goatee and murmured: "I think there must be something wrong with the blockade! Just as the lord said As mentioned above, there is no problem with the blockade for a month and a half. When all the lords thought that Mipo Castle would be captured soon, a large number of reinforcements from the Kira family were suddenly killed, then the blockade must not be in place. Take some fish that slipped through the net, sneak out of Dewa country when we relax, and then inform Echigo of the information!"

Date Terumune also sat on the hillside with no image like Date Mimoto, and complained angrily: "Damn it! Give me another half a month and I will definitely succeed! It's a pity that all previous efforts were wasted at the most critical moment! Wasting so much energy in vain ended up losing troops and generals, what is the purpose of our hard planning?"

"To be honest, I don't agree with such hasty actions. We have experienced the power of the Kira family before, so we shouldn't get involved rashly. Just provide material support like the Anton family. This time we have involved so deeply. In the end, it was a failure. I don’t know if the family will be adversely affected.”

By now.It is inevitable that Date Mimoto will also say something after the fact.In the past, it didn’t mean that we couldn’t question the strategy jointly formulated by the two generations of family governors, but now that everyone loses, we can’t blame him for thinking after the fact. The power of the Kira family can extend to Hokuriku, Koshin, Kanto and even Dewa. Such a powerful daimyo Even if you can't form an alliance, try to avoid hostility.

Date Huizong was very dissatisfied with what his uncle said, and said with a muffled grunt and lowered his head: "Who knew that the Kira Army would come so soon? It's meaningless to talk about it now! I can only hope that my The father-in-law can get out of danger as soon as possible! The big deal is that I will hold my nose and admit my mistake to the Kira family, and it will be unlucky to step on a piece of horse manure."

"I hope so! It's just..." Date Mimoto hesitated for a while, but decided to say straight: "When we escaped, the camp of Mogami Deha Shouden seemed to be surrounded, it's hard to say whether we can escape! "

Date Huizong also hesitated.With an uncertain tone, he said: "It should be possible! It's okay to escape with a smaller army. After all, it's not the first time I've experienced a battle. I should know... It's best that there is no problem. Otherwise, my unmarried Isn't your wife, Princess Yiji, about to go into mourning?"

……

This Miura night battle completely collapsed the situation of the Dewa National Army. Only about 600 people from the [-] troops were killed on the spot. Most of the Chinese turned around and fled when they found that they could not resist the Kira Army. In the pursuit of the red cavalry, about [-] people were chased to death one after another, and only about [-] defeated troops escaped smoothly, including Date Teruzong, Onodera Kagemichi, who ran the fastest, and Tendo, Nobuzawa Shi.Yuli Twelve and the others had been making soy sauce on the periphery, and the people of the country also took advantage of the chaos to escape.

The biggest captives this time were the Mogami Clan and the other six families in the Mogami Eight Clans.Among them, the name of the Lugang family is relatively famous, and many Chinese lords such as the Hanhejiang family and the Shiratori family were also captured. In addition to the few Chinese who escaped, the Chinese lords of Munshan County and Moshang County were basically captured. Even the pot end.

In fact, the fact that the Mogami clan was captured by such a coincidence has something to do with the location of the Mogami family's camp. Mogami Yoshimori claims to be the general of the Dewa National Army, and the location of the camp will inevitably become the center of many Chinese people. Onodera Keimichi and Date Teruzong are like the two wings of the Crane Wing Formation protecting the central "Honjin".

It was such an unintentional act of his that made the red cavalry of the Kira Army focus more on the area near the center, and instead put the Onodera Kagemichi and Date Teruzong on the two wings in a secondary position, which seemed to be a great contribution Catching generals naturally doesn't care about those small fish and shrimps, so they can escape successfully. After Kira Chibei finds out that there are only so many big fish in this formation, turning around and chasing after them can no longer keep the two main forces.

Compared with those national daimyos who were ignored and managed to escape, Tendo Laizhen and Nobuzawa Mishige escaped by relying on the talent of vigilance. It was a little bit closer to the east, and it happened that during the night attack, Tiantong Laizhen was woken up before she fell asleep, and then packed her bags and ran away without saying a word. Yan Ze Mitsuru was more cunning than him, and when he saw the nearby military camp on fire, he immediately Escaping was slightly faster than Tiantong Laizhen's speed.

The so-called monarchs and ministers are originally birds in the same forest, and they fly separately when disaster is imminent. The sentences used to describe husband and wife are similar between monarchs and ministers. It’s true that the Eight Immortals crossed the sea and showed their magical powers. When Kira’s army couldn’t catch up with the big head and then turned around to chase these small fish and shrimp, these Izuyu people ran away without paying attention because they were familiar with the terrain, so that the red cavalry didn’t even want to chase them. Chase everywhere.

Fortunately, Kirayoshi didn't intend to wipe out so many people. It was a very bold act to go to a place he was not familiar with to fight a night attack. Don't look at him calmly, as if everything is in his chest. But in fact, the responsibility on his shoulders as a decision maker is far greater than imagined.

This is the first time he has come to Dewa country, and it is also the first time this mixed army has joined forces. Less than half of the soldiers have followed Uesugi Masatora to Shonai Hirano last year, but last year they did not If I didn't take this waterway, let alone stayed near Mipo City, I was at a disadvantage in terms of familiarity with the environment. This is a disadvantage of geographical location.

The first time this army was mixed was also the first time to go out, but this first time was when it was really bold to fight the night attack, and the location chosen for the night attack was the Deyu country that had never been before.Rather than the relatively familiar Hokuriku and Kanto places.The strong support that can be relied on around is the defenders in Mipo Castle.But the defenders have been half-destroyed in the nearly two months of fighting, and they don't even have the ability to provide more help. This is a disadvantage in terms of human harmony.

Fortunately, no one has the upper hand in the weather. Night raids rely on correct judgment and good timing. The battle process depends more on the personal adjustments of the reserve generals. How to raid the camp to defeat the favorable resistance, how to block the camp Intimidating the defenders to force the captives to surrender, how to set fire to the camp without losing food and supplies, and other issues must be decided by these generals on the spot.Kira would not interfere with them, nor did he think he would have done better than them in that situation.

Mogami Yoshimori was in a coma all day, and didn't wake up in a daze until evening. When he found himself reduced to a prisoner, he went crazy for a while, until Takikawa Tokimashi, who was more than a head taller than him, stood in front of him. This guy It seemed that he had just woken up, and he retreated into his room without daring to come out. It was Mogami Yoshimitsu who went in alone and sighed with his father all night before he was persuaded.

When Mochizuki Yoshinaga quietly told Ji Liangyi, in fact, Mogami Yoshimori woke up much earlier than expected.It's just that he has been pretending to be asleep to deceive the guards outside Shiki's house. It has to be said that Mogami Yoshimori is still very smart.He knew very well that the place where he woke up was not the wilderness as he had imagined, let alone the Yamagata City he was familiar with, so there was only one possibility, that he was captured.

In the chaotic era of the Warring States period, almost every warrior had the psychological preparation to become a prisoner one day. Even the unyielding warriors could not help but think of that day. Death is precisely the easiest and most irresponsible choice at this time. Compared with the heavy choice of being captured but not being able to die, those who commit suicide are cowards.

Yoshiki Kira hated the theory of life and death in the Warring States Period in Japan. There are no shortage of world-class wizards who regard life and death as lighter than a feather, but it is very wrong to vigorously advocate this theory of life and death, which will breed many irresponsible A samurai, anyway, death is like a lamp going out, and I committed suicide, so it doesn't matter how serious a mistake I make, and I throw away the burden of the family business with a kick of my legs, just like those irresponsible people often say : "After I die, don't care about the flood."

Mogami Yoshimori does not want to take this responsibility, but he is still unwilling to fail like this. If he is a realist, he will not go crazy, but will take his defeated soldiers on the journey home, and then go to a more Extending in the far direction, maybe he will not start this anti-Etsuhou alliance, nor will he think about being the general of the so-called Deba National Army, and he will not be reduced to the pitiful situation of being a prisoner.

It is unknown what the two father and son were talking about that night. Yoshihiro Kira was not interested in letting the ninja inquire secretly, so he could guess that it was nothing more than persuading Mogami Yoshinori to recognize the facts and correct his mentality. The failure of Mogami was not What a shame, thanks to the number of samurai daimyos under the hands of the Kira family, their Mogami family is not the largest and most famous.

The proposal made by Namioka Tanbo the day before was not accidental. In fact, long before Kira Yoshitoki’s action, he had already prepared to completely suppress the Izuba Mogami clan. The so-called No. It is also the Izuba Mogami who is responsible, if he does not surrender this samurai as soon as possible, maybe he will make a comeback in a few years, and harass the stable order of Xia Yue again and again.

This night attack is of great significance to catch Mogami Yoshihiro or not. It can save the Kira Army's strength, otherwise he will quickly lead the army out of Ha Kuroyama and go straight to Mogami County after defeating the Dewa Nationalist coalition army. After recovering the Shimizu Territory, they will go south along the Mogami River to raid Murayama County, and capture all the residences of the so-called Mogami Hachimura, Kanhee Clan, Shiratori Clan, Oshu Hosokawa Clan, and Mogami Clan.

This step is not as easy as imagined. Even if he is sure to surrender these companies in the end, time-consuming and labor-intensive will always be unavoidable. If Mogami Yoshishou is determined to fight against Kira's army, he will invite Date with great profit The reinforcements of Harumune and Osaki Yoshinao, relying on any advantage in the location, will form a deadlock locally. , Date Harumune-related people were all involved, and Kira's army fell into an embarrassing situation.

The so-called quagmire is a dangerous situation that is difficult to extricate yourself from. Deyu country seems to be profitable, but it is actually a hidden crisis. Fame, so much hard work is all in vain. If you don’t retreat into the quagmire of Dewa Country and struggle desperately, you may have to invest more troops and resources. The more you invest, the more difficult it is to give up. It will take five years or even ten years Years to appease the local Chinese and straighten out the circles of influence between Yu and Austria.

It's like he doesn't want to fall into Kai. Kai is a quagmire with a greater degree of crisis than Dewa. After all, the people of Dewa are still in a state of disunity and have deep conflicts with each other. If you tie them down and lure them with benefits, you can get through the crisis safely.

However, the Kai Takeda family has been operating from generation to generation for more than 300 years. From top to bottom, it is almost a group of family members composed of relatives and friends of the Takeda family. All the heroes of the country are still stronger when they are tied together. The people of Shinano who were so powerful back then were all beaten by him without any power to fight back. (To be continued..)