Yoshikane Suzuki didn't understand the meaning of Shimizu Soji for a while, he was very puzzled by Shimizu Soji's thoughts, in his eyes, Katsurui Castle was much more valuable than Ichinomiya Castle, and it couldn't be compared from a military or political point of view. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Shimizu Soharu wanted to be open and honest, but he knew that this kind of thing couldn't be told the truth. He knew that Shengrui City was indeed much more valuable than Ichinomiya City, and from a military point of view, Shengrui City was easy to be breached.

After the increase in troops, Shimizu Soji once wanted to break through Katsurui Castle and achieve the final victory of Awa Province. But after calming down, he finally realized that he had done something too much. From a military point of view, it is much easier to break Katsurui Castle than Ichinomiya Castle.

Politically speaking, Shimizu Soji had already gained great prestige in the Battle of Nakabucheon, and if he solved Katsurui Castle, it would be the fate of the Meritorious Lord. What will Noyama Yoshitomo think of him, and all the generals of the Four Nations Legion are waiting to defeat Ruicheng and make meritorious contributions, what will they think of Shimizu Soji?

Where there are people, there is a struggle, there is a competition of interests, and the Shikoku Legion is only a temporary legion in the eyes of many people, and after settling the Shikoku region, it will be disbanded at most after the end of the Battle of Kyushu, and everyone wants to get enough combat achievements in a short period of time. Shimizu Soji has already achieved greater military achievements than others, and even now the Awa people only know Shimizu Soji, but they don't know that the commander of the Shikoku Legion is Noyama Masato.

Shimizu Soji believed that Noyama Masatomo was a magnanimous gentleman, otherwise he would not have given him more troops and handed over the sharpest weapons to him, but that did not mean that others would not covet his merits and speak ill of him in Noyama Masato's ear.

Shimizu Soji clearly realized that the battle of Shengrui Castle could not be done by himself from a military or political point of view, but the increase of troops to tens of thousands of horses, coupled with the transportation of four powerful cylinders, it would be impossible to say that he would not make some appearances.

Ichinomiya Castle became a substitute for Katsurui Castle, and its political status in the Awa Province was second to that of Katsurui Castle, and it was at the forefront of the second class. Now there are not many people in Awa who are still openly waving their flags for Miyoshi Yoshiken, and Ogasawara Narisuke, the lord of Ichinomiya Castle, is the leader.

From a military point of view, Ichinomiya Castle is a rare large fortified castle in Awa Province. It is also a small threat to the Shikoku Army, not to mention that even such an easy-to-defend and difficult-to-attack fortified city can be breached, and it is also a big deterrent for the people of Awa who are still hesitating.

In the dark night, Shimizu Soji first came to a dismount, and then from before dawn, the tens of thousands of soldiers of the Four Nations Legion who were concentrated outside Ichinomiya Castle entered the battlefield one after another, lined up in an array on the open ground, and wanted to break through Ichinomiya Castle in one go.

Ogasawara Narisuke, who had been sleepless all night, looked at the building that was shattered last night, his expression was very serious, he had never seen a weapon that could collapse a building with one blow, and he didn't see clearly what kind of weapon it was from last night, the weapon was not clear, and it was a fact that the lid of the building was removed. He looked at the enemy formation at the front of Nancheng, trying to see what kind of weapon caused such an effect, but the figure was really not clear, but he began to doubt whether Ichinomiya Castle could hold on.

Last night's familiar voice sounded again, and a "boom" roar sounded at the front of the southern city, and the four cannons launched their might again towards the city tower. The theoretical effective firing range of the three-thousand-pound cannon can reach 1,000 meters, but this is only theoretical, in fact, after 500 meters, the target is no longer able to be seen. However, the target is too large, and even if it is not accurate, just firing a cannonball into the city can still cause a huge deterrent. The cannonball will still bounce forward after hitting the ground, causing damage, of course, the current cannon is actually more of a deterrent, and has not yet become the main weapon on the battlefield.

Three of the four shells were fired into the city, and only one of them jumped and knocked off most of the head of a recruit who had no time to hide, and died miserably, while the others did not cause any casualties and brought up a cloud of dust.

The casualties were not large, in fact, the blow to morale was a major blow, Ogasawara Seisuke clearly felt that the atmosphere in Ichinomiya Castle had become depressed, and he had some confidence in relying on the fortified castle to fight a cage battle, but now he could only be beaten.

Ogasawara Seisuke fell into darkness, his whole body and mind fell into darkness, and the air force instantly enveloped him, suffocating him. The Date army invaded the country of Awa, and as the brother-in-law of Yoshiken Miyoshi, he was able to escape, and he originally had some confidence, hoping to promote peace. Now Ichimiyagi can only be beaten, demoralized, suspicion suddenly intensified, he wants to hold Ichimiyagi with such a blow, once the anger is vented, it is very difficult to get up again.

The violent emotional ups and downs caused Ogasawara to fall into a state of despair, and the idea of fighting a tough cage battle in the fortified castle was quickly shattered by reality, so that the rapid transformation from one extreme to the other, and the fear increased greatly.

The smile on the corner of Shimizu Soji's mouth was sheng, and as soon as the deafening roar passed, he immediately turned to the herald and ordered: "Shotgun, send shotgun up." He knows the advantages and disadvantages of shotguns, and he knows that the power of shotguns within 100 meters is amazing, and after 100 meters, there is no accuracy. Shotguns have strong firepower, quick reactions, and the ability to kill at close range, so they can show their skills in night battles, encounters, ambushes, counter-ambushes and other battles, but they are not very effective in siege warfare.

There is no accurate head, the huge Ichinomiya Castle is placed there, it is enough to shoot cannonballs into the city, if there are twenty or thirty cannons, Shimizu Soji does not mind plowing the battlefield with solid bullets. However, he only has four cannons, as long as he is beaten for a while, the defenders will always react, and then there will be no great deterrent.

The shotgun looks like a barrel-shaped tin can, filled with finger-sized iron pellets and sawdust, and the diameter of the can is smaller than the barrel of the gun, so an extra thin plank of wood is stuffed into the bag after it is loaded.

As soon as Shimizu Soji gave the order, the four cannons opened fire almost simultaneously. The iron bucket burst due to the huge pressure difference after flying out of the cannon port, and a small half of the iron pellets inside fell into the city like raindrops, and most of them hit the city walls with a clanging sound.

Even if only a small part of the iron pellet fell into the castle, the damage caused was enormous, as the defenders were all gathered behind the walls of Ichinomiya Castle South Castle and waited for the enemy to attack, although the solid bullets scattered the queue a little, and a piece fell in an instant like cutting wheat.

The power of the shotgun was staggering, and the casualties caused were staggering, and Ogasawara Narisuke and the others were all shocked. No one thought that the enemy would have such a powerful long-range weapon, and there was originally a trace of luck, which was completely shattered in the miserable howl.

The defenders collapsed.

For the fear of the unknown, the defenders did not want to wait for death in the death zone anymore, and retreated one after another, even the self-proclaimed fearless samurai lord followed suit, and Ogasawara Seisuke had no way to force the defenders to resist it.

The situation soon became a little out of control, and the crowd fled backwards, no one had time to care about others, and the whistling sounded again. When Shimizu Soji saw the second shotgun loaded, he had already ordered the cannon to be fired, and then it was time to attack the city.

The Namba Bunbei led the selected 1,000 or so Selectors to cross the ditch with a ladder on their backs, climbed the castle walls, and urged the soldiers to climb the ladder to the castle. Namba Denbei was a first-class warrior under Shimizu Soji, who was martyred after Shimizu Soji committed suicide by seppuku.

Namba Denbei personally took the lead, and more than two dozen ashigaru generals broke the corners of their mouths, climbed with both hands and feet, and went up the ladder one after another. The soldiers followed, and if it was usual, the ant-attached siege was the most familiar siege method for the defending generals.

With a muffled bang, Ogasawara Seisuke watched as the Date Army Shikoku Legion slammed dozens of heavy long ladders into the city, and the hooks on the corners of the collision were nailed into the city, while the soldiers under his command lost the courage to fight one by one.

Ogasawara Narisuke yelled, "Block! Be sure to block it for me! ”

His second uncle, Ogasawara Chengyin, grabbed the impulsive nephew and persuaded bitterly: "Lord, is the southern city unstoppable, or should you retreat to the northern city first, and then think about it in the long run?!" "The offensive of the Four Nations Legion is like a raging storm, and it is impossible to resist it.

Ogasawara Narisuke shook off the pull of his second uncle, pulled down a soldier who wanted to escape, kicked him to the ground, threatened with a sword, and roared angrily: "Military order, those who take a step back, behead!" The defenders mustered up their courage a little, brandishing their swords and spears and slashing at the enemy who climbed up.

The defenders didn't notice that when they went up to resist, their lords, the heroic and invincible Ogasawara Narisuke and Nariyin, quietly withdrew from the battlefield with more than thirty samurai, turned into the ramp, and quickly turned strategically towards Kitajo Honmaru.

The Namba Denbei was the first to board the South Castle and shouted, "The first to ascend the Namba Denbei." As he spoke, he jumped off the city, stabbed the jaw-dropping enemy to death, snatched the spear in his hand, waved it twice, and laughed and charged, frightening the defenders to retreat.

More and more Date soldiers followed the Namba Denbei to the castle, and the participating defenders suddenly found that they had become a trapped army fighting alone, panicked and unsure of what to do, and the Date army did not hesitate in the slightest, brandishing swords and guns and rushing to kill.

The South Castle of Ichinomiya Castle, which is known as an impregnable city, was breached so easily, and the frightened Ogasawara Seisuke used his body to resist the gate of Nimaru and gasped, he really didn't expect the defeat to be so fast, and muttered in a low voice: "I can only surrender, hoping to save my life." ”

Inside this pill, there is a big mess.

When Ogasawara Seisuke retreated into Honmaru, this Awa Castle was completely out of order, and after witnessing the one-sided slaughter on the battlefield, the few remaining defenders in Honmaru had already been frightened and trembling.

No one thought that Ichinomiya Castle, which was known as an infallible castle, would be unable to resist under the first wave of attacks like Banxi Castle, watching those murderous Date troops pour into the city, attacking various warehouses and towers, and slaughtering those who dared to resist.

Shimizu Soji and the others didn't enter the city immediately, who knows if there will be a hiding diehard who will jump out of the dead corner, so let's wait! By the time I entered the castle after cleaning it several times, although the Honmaru and some castle towers were still in the hands of the Ogasawara clan, overall Miyagi had fallen.

As one of the largest cities in the Awa country, Ichinomiya Castle has strong fortifications, and in addition to its location in key areas, the reserves in the city are also very abundant, and the number of defenders is about 1,000. However, under the offensive of the Date army, Ichinomiya Castle was crumbling, and the back of his hands in the castle was unimaginably fragile.

Shimizu Soji smiled with a happy smile: "I originally thought it was a tough battle, but I never thought that Ichinomiya Castle was so fragile. Now write a war report to Kishiwada Castle, especially mention the credit of the artillery crew in the first place, they are the protagonists today. ”

Yoshikane Suzuki and his Saga people watched the siege of the Date Army throughout the whole process, and did not interfere, smiling bitterly, and said, "I haven't seen it before!" "The two major weapons in the era of cold weapons turned to the era of hot weapons, cannons and guns, and only guns were passed on in the Wa Kingdom, and the guns were ignored.

Yoshikane Suzuki also saw the power of the cannon for the first time, and empathy, he was not necessarily much better than Ogasawara Narisuke in defending the castle, which is why he was glad that he stood on the side of the victor.

Qing Shui Zongzhi also smiled lightly: "No one expected that the power of the cannon would be so powerful, if there is a cannon ten times or twenty times, and that fortified city is unlevel, it cannot be attacked, and the lord is indeed worthy of the man of destiny." ”

Yoshikan Suzuki praised from the bottom of his heart: "Yes! ”

In this battle, the Date army directly involved in the attack on Ichinomiya Castle was only in the early 1,000s, and the rest of the tens of thousands of horses were surrounded by Ichinomiya Castle. The purpose of this battle was to further deter many Awa people and give enough confidence to the soldiers of the Date army.

It wasn't just the defenders of Ichinomiya Castle who were frightened, they were shocked and glad to see that the Date Army had broken through Ichinomiya Castle without much effort, and Ogasawara Narisuke, who was still struggling to breathe, was already dead in the eyes of many Awa people.

The battle of Ichinomiya Castle also affected the nerves of Katsurui City, and it was inevitable that tens of thousands of people besieging the city would not participate in the conspiracy turmoil. They couldn't see the real situation on the battlefield, but word of mouth, hearing the true and false news, without exception, proved this thing, something they couldn't believe, that Ichinomiya Castle had fallen.

The bad news of the fall of Ichinomiya Castle came, and for a while, Shengrui City was full of rumors, and the grass and trees were all soldiers. Shinohara Nagabo was also helpless about this, so he could only send messengers to ask Miyoshi Yoshiken to preside over the overall situation, and on the other hand, step up the repair and reinforcement of the city fortifications. (To be continued.) )