Of course, it is not so simple to destroy Hojo, and after seeing the excitement on the faces of the retainers, it is necessary to make them correct their attitudes, which is not a good phenomenon to underestimate the enemy. So I only heard the clan say: "You don't seem to know much about the current Hojo family, since this is the case, then it is necessary for me to let you know that while the family is preparing for war, the Hojo family has not stagnated, but like the main family, it has begun to vigorously expand the military strength, so the current Hojo family has more than 80,000 troops, and 70,000 of these 80,000 troops are directly under the Hojo clan, not those rabble, and it is not as easy to defeat Hojo as you think." ”

Hearing this, although the retainers present were slightly restrained, the clan could see that there was still a disdainful look in their eyes.

"My lord, although the Hojo family has an army of 80,000, if the family unites the forces of each family, the total strength will still exceed that of the other party, so the subordinates think that in terms of military strength, the other party has nothing to boast about." Wasuka Masakatsu, who has not been seen for a long time, as the number one general in the family, couldn't help but be the first to speak.

"Lord Wasuka, having said that, my lord seems to have forgotten one thing, it is now the sixth year of Tensho, and there are only less than two years left before the final time of the main hall's order, and if the Hojo family's army is all elite, then it is not a simple matter to destroy it in less than two years." After listening to this, Yamauchi Kazutoyo also said his thoughts, but he was completely opposite to the opinion of Wasuka Masakatsu, if there was enough time, then it was indeed only a matter of time to eliminate Hojo, but now the most lacking thing in the family is time, and he really can't say anything about eliminating Hojo in less than two years.

Sure enough, when he finished speaking, the retainers present remembered the task given to the lord by the hall at that time, and when they thought of this, they suddenly lost the look they had just now, and they all frowned at this moment, thinking in their hearts how they could complete the task in such a short time. It's impossible for them not to think about it seriously, this matter is linked to their own knowledge and deeds, once it is not completed, then the main hall does not need other punishments, only depriving the lord of the task of attacking Kanto, such a punishment is not acceptable to the Gao Shan family.

Now that it's before the war, although the clan doesn't want the retainers to be overly optimistic, but they also don't want them to be too pessimistic, if it affects morale, it will be a bit more than worth the loss, so after seeing the state of the retainers, I just heard the clan immediately say: "Eliminate Hojo in two years, it seems difficult, but in fact it is simple, although the Hojo family is strong, but as long as the family strategy is right, it is not impossible, so the purpose of this time I gathered everyone here, is to hope to negotiate a feasible strategy with you, So as to complete the task of the lord. Saying this, the clan stopped talking, but left plenty of time for the retainers to consider.

After a while, I only heard Sanada Masayuki speak: "My lord, as far as the current situation is concerned, the family has formed a three-sided encirclement of Kantojo, such a situation, the family can divide the army into four, the family out of Kai Ueno to attack Musashi, Uesugi, Shibata, Asai three out of Echigo to run to the field, Sakuma out of Suruga to attack Sagami, and Satake family this can out of Hitachi to attack the total number, as long as these four armies have a victory, then they can assist the other armies, and then defeat the enemy's army with superior forces, It can be divided into two again, and then the other two armies can be assisted separately, so that the Hojo army can be quickly destroyed, and once the opponent's four enemy armies are defeated, then the victory and defeat will also be known, this is the opinion of the subordinates, and please ask the lord to decide. ”

"Sanada-sama is reasonable, but the adults seem to have forgotten a little, although the Uesugi and Sakuma armies can also be called elite divisions, but in terms of combat power, not only can they not compare with the main family, even if they are slightly inferior to the Hojo family, and the Hojo family, as a defensive side, occupies the best geographical advantage, once an army is defeated by the Hojo army, then the other party can completely use the strategy just said by the adults to deal with the main family, so that it is impossible to eliminate the Hojo family within two years." Speaking of this, I only heard Hosokawa Fujitaka continue: "My lord, my subordinates think that if they want to achieve their goals, then their subordinates feel that it is better to directly assemble a large army to attack Odawara Castle, once they can occupy this city, then not only can they annihilate a large number of enemy troops, but as long as they can capture this city, this blow to the Hojo family is undoubtedly huge, so their subordinates think that instead of dividing their troops, they will concentrate their forces to attack Odawara." ”

Two military advisors spoke, and Honda Masanobu, as the chief military advisor, couldn't help but speak, but this time, Honda Masanobu unexpectedly didn't come up with any more strange plans, but came up with a strategy that he had always looked down on, and only heard him speak: "Lord, my subordinates think that it is not easy to do it whether it is to divide the troops and encroach step by step, or to concentrate superior forces to capture the city first, especially the direct attack on Odawara Castle, which is the heart of the Hojo family, as far as the subordinates know, since the beginning of the Hojo clan, Hojo's funds are in addition to arming the five-color preparation, The other half is used to fortify Odawara Castle, which is definitely stronger than Azuchi Castle in the main hall, and once you attack the main castle, you will inevitably fall into a quagmire, let alone two years, even if you do three or five years, you may not be able to take this castle. And if you divide the troops, just like Sanada-sama said just now, it is not advisable. Therefore, the subordinates believe that there is no other way for the family to destroy Hojo this time than to defeat him head-on. Speaking of this, Honda Masanobu paused slightly, and then continued: "My lord, this time to attack Hojo, the family does not have any chance to take advantage of it, so it is better to gather a large army and fight a decisive battle with it, only in this way can we give full play to the advantages of our own arms, and with the cooperation of other forces, the battle of Kanto can be decided." This is the opinion of the subordinates, and I ask the Lord to decide. ”

After the three military advisors finished speaking, it was the turn of the other retainers to start discussing, but they also revolved around these three strategies, and occasionally someone put forward new ideas, but they were quickly rejected by the other retainers.

And the clan is also thinking quickly at this time, it can be said that before this military discussion, he has thought of these three strategies, it can be said that these three strategies have advantages and disadvantages, the first two have been refuted, as for the decisive battle with the other party, there are also flaws, that is, even if the decisive battle is won, then the other party will retreat to Odawara, in this way, it will return to the siege strategy, it can be said that no matter which strategy is chosen, it is impossible to bypass Odawara Castle, but the clan is the first to deny the direct siege, The reason is very simple, if you attack Odawara directly, then the morale of the Hojo family is high, and in the case that the army does not have much advantage, it is impossible to fight within two years, and your own side can be a coalition army, in case something happens to someone and chooses to withdraw the army, then it will give the Hojo family a chance to counterattack, the uncertainty of the coalition is too strong, and the clan is not willing to take this risk.

And if you can win the decisive battle and attack Odawara Castle, it will be different, although the castle is still the same castle, but the defenders of the castle have no comparison in morale, if it is just a demoralized Hojo army defending the castle, then the possibility of attacking this castle will be greatly increased, so what Honda Masanobu said, not only is it safe, but it is also the most able to complete the task before 1580.

Thinking of this, I only heard the clan say: "Okay, this time is the best time to show the powerful strength of my Takayama family to the world, so I decided to adopt Honda Masanobu's strategy this time and have a decisive battle with the Hojo family!" ”

Since it has been decided how to attack, then the next thing to do is to choose the location of the decisive battle, in this regard, the clan does not have too many requirements, after all, this time it is to collide with the enemy head-on, not a strategy, so the plain is the best choice, and the Kanto region lacks anything is not lacking the plain, after discussing with the retainers, there are two places that are very suitable as the venue for the decisive battle, the first is Musashino, Musashino is wide, even if the two sides into 200,000 are all scattered here, it is nothing at all, it is suitable as a decisive battle location, However, although this place is wide, it is really far away from Odawara Castle, and even if the Hojo army is defeated here, the Hojo family will have enough time to set up defenses in Odawara Castle, which is not in line with the strategy of quickly solving Hojo, so in the end, the clan can only abandon this place. As a result, the clan had to choose another place, and that was the Ashigara Plain, where Odawara Castle was located in the southeast corner of the plain, and it could be said that if he could win the decisive battle, he would be able to attack Odawara with victory.

But there is also a flaw in this place, that is, this plain is mountainous to the west and north, and if you want to reach the Ashigara Plain, you must first cross Mt. Hakone or Mt. Ashigata, which will make the family coalition army waste some physical strength, and the terrain is also a little unfavorable to the family coalition army, because of the back to the mountains, there is no room for retreat, which is not much different from the backwater battle, and then look at the other party, if the decisive battle here, then the opponent's back to Odawara Castle, then there will inevitably be an increase in morale, this can not but let the clan consider it, However, compared to Musashino, Ashigara Hirano's advantage was still slightly more obvious, so in the end, the clan still chose to have a decisive battle with the Hojo family here.

The problem of the decisive battle of Ashigara Hirano is not only seen by the Takayama clan, but the retainers present are all veterans of the battlefield, of course, they can also see the problem, especially after reading the simple map, only to hear the Maeda Toshiya frown and say: "Lord, the subordinates feel that it is not very beneficial to the family to have a decisive battle with the Hojo family here......" Then, the Maeda Toshiya said the problem that the clan thought of just now, and after he finished speaking, other retainers continued to add.

After listening to this, the clan immediately said: "I have understood your thoughts, but have you ever thought that the family will fight against the mountain, and the other party will be backed by Odawara Castle, once the battle is lost, then the first thing that comes to mind is not to fight to the death, but to retreat into the city, as long as the other party loses the will to fight a decisive battle, then the family has the possibility of destroying it, and this is also the reason why I chose to fight a decisive battle in the Ashigara Plain." And when the clan finished speaking, the retainers finally understood the good intentions of the lord, so they no longer had any objections.

After making a decision and setting a date, the clan immediately sent someone to send the war letter to Odawara Castle, and sent envoys to Sakuma, Shibata and other forces to ask for reinforcements.

And after receiving the war letter from the Takayama family, the Hojo clan did not dare to slack off, and immediately convened his retainers to discuss.

Although the Hojo clan and the retainers present had long expected such a day, they were still a little nervous, after all, this time they would definitely not fight like before, but have a decisive battle with the Takayama family, which had to be treated with caution.

Of course, in the past two years, with the continuous expansion of the Hojo family, the retainers of the Hojo family still have some confidence in defeating the Takayama coalition army, after all, the strength of the Hojo army lies in the field battle, and the other party wants to fight a decisive battle on the plains, which is in line with the wishes of the Hojo family, especially the other party still chose to carry out the Ashigara Plain, which makes the Hojo family even more happy, if the victory in the joint battle is of course the best, once defeated, then the Hojo army can retreat into Odawara Castle as quickly as possible, and resist the attack of the Takayama family with the fortified castle, so that Regardless of ten wins and ten defeats in the decisive battle, the family is invincible. And the Hojo clan also thinks like this, so after some discussion, he immediately made a decision to fight, and in addition, the Hojo clan also has one more mind, that is, to make this war letter public, so as not to gather all the military forces here when the time comes, and the Takayama family takes the opportunity to attack elsewhere, the old fox of the Takayama clan is good at tricks, so he has to guard against it, and once the war book under the other party is made public, then unless the Takayama clan is not shameless, otherwise it will come to the appointment anyway, If it was before, it would have been enough, and now the face of the Takayama family is not something that can be discarded casually, so when it was announced, the Hojo clan no longer had to worry about this.

In order to leave enough time for each family to prepare, the clan set the time for the decisive battle on April 15, which was the day of shame for the Takayama family, so he hoped that through this battle, the shame would be completely washed away.

And before that, the envoys sent to each family have returned to Kofu Castle, for the replies of other forces, the clan is very satisfied, this time the Takayama family can use the military strength, the Sakuma family can send 20,000 people, Asai 15,000 people, Shibata 6,000, Uesugi 5,000, the total army of 41,000 people, if you add the 50,000 army of the Takayama family, then the total army will exceed 90,000 people, this is in this era, it is definitely a super-large-scale battle, if it is not the last battle with the Uesugi family, so that the Shibata family vitality is greatly damaged, Otherwise, this time the coalition army of the family can even reach 100,000 people, as for the Satake clan, this time there is no chance to participate in the decisive battle, after all, the territory of the Satake family is not only not bordered by the Takayama family, but even with Uesugi is separated by Ashina, so the clan did not send a messenger to Changlu, but with 90,000 troops in hand, the clan also has enough confidence to win the decisive battle. (To be continued.) )