This operation of the Ashina family was obviously premeditated and planned well a long time ago.

In fact, after Kanagami returned from the Tsugawa family, the Ashina Mori clan began to arrange these! Originally, the Ashina Mori clan was not in much of a hurry, but Date Harumune's sudden abdication also caught the Ashina Mori clan off guard.

Originally, according to the plan of the Ashina Mori clan, they would wait until the autumn harvest was completed before launching an offensive. However, due to the sudden abdication of Date Minoru, it is equivalent to directly ending the civil strife of the Date family, and in layman's terms, it is to make the Ashina family and other forces that follow the "mixed benefits" have no excuse to continue the attack.

However, although Date Harumi re-entered Nishiyama Castle and succeeded to the throne of the Date family, the official succession ceremony has not yet begun, and the relevant official documents have not yet been issued. It is equivalent to the current time period is in the stage of the transfer of power to the Ida family, and if the Ashina family is in a hurry, they can continue to make a profit.

Otherwise, after Date Harumune officially takes over all the affairs of the Date family, if the Ashina family wants to send troops to attack Nihonmatsu, Tamura and other evil forces, they must also take into account the face of the Date family, after all, these people are nominally the younger brothers of the Date family, right?

Don't look at the Date family just experienced civil strife, it seems that the vitality is greatly damaged, but the Ashina family doesn't want to directly tear their faces with the Date family to fight to the death, such a situation is not what the Ashina Mori family wants to see. Anyway, Mutsu is now completely chaotic, so the Ashina family can take their time, and they can't eat hot tofu in a hurry.

And Ashina Mori's strategy is not limited to military offenses, but is also accompanied by political tricks.

You said that the country of Mutsu, especially the southern region of Mutsu, is small, and there are so many forces. There are only a few families bordering the territory of the Ashina family, except for the Date family, and the farther forces are not something that the Ashina family can attack. However, since these forces had also joined the Date Minoru sect before, it was great news for the Ashina Mori clan, because the maneuverable space in it was too great.

For example, the Soma family!

The Soma family is the people who joined the side of Date Minoru before, and according to common sense, Date Harumun will naturally punish the Soma family after he wins, even if there is no Soma family, life will not be easy. In such a situation, the confrontation between the Soma family and Date Harunzong can be said to be certain! And if the Ashina family came to the door at this time to ask for the alliance, it was exactly what the Soma family couldn't ask for.

Because the strength of the Soma family is not enough to fight against the Date family, if there is a strong ally like the Ashina family, it will also echo the interests of the Soma family. The most important thing is that the territory of the two families is not bordering, so there will be no disputes and places that may cause disputes.

Once the alliance is reached, then the Ashina family will achieve the goal of winning over the people of the Southern Michichi Oku, weakening the Date family and strengthening itself. In just a few days, the effect of this strategy is remarkable!

Soma, Nikaido, Ito, and other people have successively signed an alliance or a writ with the Ashina family (ichi-kyo, which also means "unity", which can be understood as a kind of contract, contract, or the like). At the same time, the territories of the Nihonmatsu and Tamura families in Azumi and Anda counties were also being attacked by thousands of troops from the Ashina family.

If this trend continues, it won't be possible for the Ashina family to take over the position of Mutsu's "handle" in the past year!

.......

The relationship between the Tamura family and the Ashina family has been a long-standing feud, and there is no room for maneuver. Therefore, after receiving a letter of help from the Nihonmatsu family, Tamura Takaaki, the head of the Tamura family, immediately sent his eldest son, Tamura Kiyoaki, to lead 800 horsemen to aid Nihonmatsu Castle.

At this time, Takatama Castle of the Nihonmatsu family had been captured by the Ashina Mori clan, and Takakura Castle, the gateway to the Futahonmatsu Castle, which guarded the main station, was also surrounded by the Ashina family's 3,000 ashigaru. There were only more than 300 defenders in Takakura Castle, and the lord of the castle, Haruken Takakura, couldn't wait for reinforcements from his lord's family after resisting for three days, so he chose to surrender.

The head of the Nibenmatsu family, Nihonmatsu Yoshikoku, was anxious like an ant on a hot pot at this time, and in the face of the overwhelming Ashina family's troops, Nihonmatsu Yoshikoku, who was born in Nihonmatsu, was very panicked.

The Nihonmatsu family can also be called the Hatakeyama family! During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Hatakeyama Takakuni took up the post of Oshu Detective and went to the Ou area to build the Hosokawa family's stronghold in the Northern Dynasties. However, under the influence of the Kanio Rebellion, the Kira Sadake of the Oshu Expedition under Ashikaga Naoyoshi defeated Hosokawa Takakuni, and Hosokawa Takakuni was defeated and killed. After that, the Hatakeyama clan of Oshu gradually evolved into the current Nihonmatsu clan.

Nihonmatsu Yoshikuni was originally a new city village of Nihonmatsu family (this product seems to have appeared in Shinno 15?) Originally, he was just a salted fish. But coincidentally, the head of the Nihonmatsu family, Nihonmatsu Yoshishi, died young and had no heirs, so the governor of the Nihonmatsu family was inherited by Nihonmatsu Yoshikoku.

In the face of the offensive of the Ashina family, even with reinforcements from the Tamura family, Nihonmatsu Yoshikuni still had no confidence in his heart.

"My lord, as soon as Takakura Castle is lost, the strength of the Ashina family will be able to reach the outside of Nihonmatsu Castle early tomorrow morning at the latest! The lord has to come up with a countermeasure! In the Nihonmatsu Castle Castle Castle, Nihonmatsu Yoshikoku's confidant and retainer Kakota Kuniyin couldn't help but ask.

Hearing the words of Kazida Kuniyin, Nihonmatsu Yoshikuni was also speechless for a while. If you have a countermeasure, you won't be in a daze here!

"My lord, Takakura Haruken abandoned the city and surrendered, and his mother is still in the city as a hostage, will he be executed as a punishment?" Before Nihonmatsu Yoshikuni could speak, Shinjo Kunitsu, who was sitting on the other side, continued to ask.

Shinjo Kunitsu is the second son of Shinjo Murasho, that is, the younger brother of Nihonmatsu Yoshikuni.

Nihonmatsu Yoshikuni did not hesitate this time, and said very resolutely, "Takakura Haruxian's surrender is also a helpless move, Takakura Castle is not a strong city, in the face of the attack of thousands of enemy troops, it is already good to hold on to two or three hundred people for two days." ”

"Besides, it's also because of the disadvantage of the family's rescue, otherwise it wouldn't have let Takakura Castle fall into the hands of the Ashina family so easily!" Speaking of this, Nihonmatsu Yoshikuni said with an irritated face.

At this time, Xincheng Village, who was sitting at the head of the retainers and said without saying a word, said, "The lord doesn't have to blame himself, it is the autumn harvest, and the family really can't mobilize enough troops in a hurry." "When the morale of the retainers was low, Xincheng Village could only come up to comfort and cheer up.

"Hmm." Nihonmatsu Yoshikoku's heart felt a little better, and then said, "Let someone escort Takakura Haruken's mother out of the city and personally hand it over to Takakura Haruken." The master is from one game, and the family has a clear conscience when they do this! ”

"Hah!"

"But don't you have any other suggestions for the current situation?" After a few useless words, Yoshikuni Nihonmatsu once again brought the topic back on track.

Xincheng Murashang groaned for a while at this time, and then said loudly, "First of all, our family must actively prepare for the war and prepare for the cage city!" Second, immediately send someone to Ishibashi, Ouchi and other neighboring countries to ask for support! ”

"Also, more importantly, ........"