When Yoshinaga Ouchi's envoy departed from Yamaguchikan to deliver the order to Tsuwano, it was July 15, 1554, the 23rd year of Astronomy, and the scorching summer sun was scorching the earth. Mihonmatsu Castle, the key point of Tsuwano, was built in the Ichimatsu Yama Land where you can see the Tsuwano River, and it is a castle complex composed of more than ten castles, and the land of Ichimatsu is quite good as a mountain castle. Secondly, the east, south, and west of the castle are all Uchihori that connects Tsu and Nogawa, and there are many steep cliffs in the vicinity, which naturally forms a natural fortress that is easy to defend and difficult to attack. In the end, the retainers of the Yoshimi clan stationed here are all first-class talents, and their existence zài, the main castle of the Yoshimi clan can be said to be completely worry-free.

The owner of Tsuwano, Yoshimi Masayori. The samurai, who had been a monk since childhood, was standing on the watchtower at the moment, chatting about the endless flow of the Tsu and Nogawa River, and he pointed to an egret on the Tsuwa Nogawa River with a fan, and said to Ryosen Takatoyo, who had come to Sanbon Matsu Castle a month ago, "Does that egret look like the arrogant Tao Takaba, he really has no one in his eyes!" ”

He still does not call Ouchi Yoshicho, but calls him Tao Longfang, of course, in front of Ouchi Yoshicho or his messenger, Yoshimi Masarari naturally does not call Ouchi Yoshicho Tao Longfang. Although he can call Yoshinaga Ouchi, his tone is full of hatred, and the expulsion of the old master is contrary to his moral outlook on life.

Leng Quan Longfeng covered his head with a half-open fan, and said with a solemn expression: "Yes, when I think of Tao Longfang's furious appearance, I have to be deeply worried!" Mikawa Shou, the gentleman does not stand under the dangerous wall, although Masuda Fujikan has long since left, the Masuda Yin Kan who is hidden behind the scenes is afraid that he is waiting for the opportunity to stretch out his poisonous tongue. ”

Yoshimi Masori, of course, knows that Masuda Fujikane is just a puppet on the table. The real power of the Masuda family is his father Masuda Yinto. This is the posterior who began to serve as Masuda Fujikan after the death of his grandfather Sokane. With his assistance, the Masuda clan was pushed to its peak.

Yoshimi Masariri smiled contemptuously, turned around and walked straight down the stairs, and said, "It's so hot! Tao Longfang raised 12,000 troops, but he did not march for a long time, was it really just to deal with Date Zhengheng? Hmph, he wants to use his force to intimidate me, but I want to see if he has the courage. ”

Ryozumi Takatoyo shook his head and followed behind Yoshimi Masanori. said: "Tao Longfang has just released a document on the crusade against Ita Jibei, but he has come to crusade against you, I am afraid that it will immediately cause panic among An Yiren, and the defense line will collapse without a fight." Mamoru Mikawa, do you know what gift he gave me when I met Date Yoshibi? ”

Yoshimi Masari walked down the stairs a little hesitantly, stopped under the corridor, took the sour plum soup handed by the waiter, took a sip, and said suspiciously: "What? ”

Cold Spring Longfeng smiled. He didn't answer immediately, just waved to his attendant. The guard delivered a package to him, he opened it, and inside was a delicate wooden box more than three feet long, walked up to Yoshimi Masayori with a smile, gently lifted the lock on the lid of the box with his thumb, and said, "Mikawa Mamoru, come and see the gift he gave!" ”

"Smack!" The delicate wooden lid snaps open quickly, revealing a scarlet velvet lining. On the velvet, there was a brass pipe, more than two feet long, round and straight, but three inches from the end, it was bulging into a spherical shape. Directly below the balloon, a wooden handle is installed in the front and back positions. On the top of the balloon, there is a half-inch-long strip hole, embedded in which is a dark gray paper twist.

Yoshimi Masariri stared at the contents of the box, his words trembled slightly, and said, "Iron cannon!" Miniaturized iron cannons, he, he already has the ability to make miniaturized iron cannons. For Yoshimi Masayori, iron cannons are not uncommon, but the miniaturized iron cannons make him think more.

Lengquan Longfeng paused slightly, nodded, and said, "At that time, when I saw this iron cannon, I was even more surprised, and I thought of more things. Although it is not known from Date Yoshibi how many iron cannons he is equipped with, it is possible to approximate a number from the sales of Tennoji House. From the beginning of the year to June, in half a year, Tennoji Ya sold a total of 50 to 60 iron guns, and according to the principle of selling one for every ten pieces of equipment, the number he had was roughly more than 500 guns, and if you think about it, what is the concept of 500 guns. ”

Yoshimi Masari took a deep breath when he heard Rukumumi Takatoyo's speculation, and the white hairs on his head oozed out, he didn't expect Date Masaki to have such a large number of iron cannons. The power of a single iron cannon is really not flattering, but once it becomes a scale, and the iron cannon does not require too much training compared to bows and arrows, the lethality is stronger, and it is extremely easy to get started.

Ryosen Takatoyoshi saw that Tokumi Masayori had been frightened by the speculation he had made, and he pretended to be surprised and said, "Mikawa Mamoru, what's wrong with you, there's nothing wrong!" ”

Yoshimi Masariri shook his head and said, "It's okay, you said that he made this iron cannon himself." "Actually, it's no secret that the Date family was able to produce iron cannons on their own, and when the iron cannons were sold at Tennoji House, some people guessed its provenance.

Lengquan Longfeng didn't say anything about the iron cannon, but asked: "Sanhe Shou, Tao Longfang is now in charge of the two countries of Changmen and Zhou Fang, the two hundred and eleven villages of Zhou Fangguo, and the three hundred and thirty-four villages of Changmen Country, according to the calculation of thirty people recruited in each village, it should be sixteen thousand three hundred and fifty people, what I said is not wrong." ”

Yoshimi Masariri nodded and said, "You are right, under special circumstances, a hundred people can also be recruited from each village. ”

Leng Quan Longfeng calculated in his heart, and then said: "Ouchisuke has conducted several land inspections on the territory, and the output is about 300,000 stones, if you feed 300 soldiers per 10,000 stones, you can only support 9,000 people in total. But now that Tao Longfang is desperate for military force, and the standing army is more than 25,000 people every year, where does his food come from to feed an army of this size? ”

Yoshimi Masariri nodded again. Nagato and Shufu had always relied on buying food from Kyushu to maintain the training of their armies, and now that Yoshitaka Ouchi has retreated to Kitakyushu, although he will not be able to return to Honshu Island for a while, it is also delusional for Yoshinaga Ouchi to continue to buy food in the previous way. In addition to buying grain from Kyushu, it is also difficult to buy grain from the east, because Date Masaki, who is further east of him, also has a headache because of the food problem.

The war is about food, and this matter has been known to Yoshimi Masayori for a long time, and in Yoshimi Masanori's opinion, it is really extremely difficult for Yoshinaga Ouchi to win under the attack of Date Masaki and Ouchi Yoshitaka from both sides.

Yoshimi Masariri thought of something else, and he asked, "I heard that Miyazawa Heihachi set up a hill with his head outside Yoshida-gun Mountain Castle, so from what you see, is Date Yoshibi also a murderous person?" ”

Ryosen Takatoyo knew that Yoshimi Masanori had been moved, although it was not something he was happy to see, but as long as he could raise the flag, it was enough, as long as Ouchi Yoshitaka could successfully return to Honshu Island, a little little thing was not enough to worry about, he shook his head slightly, and asked, "Do you know the origin of Miyazawa Heihachi?" ”

Yoshimi Masanori shook his head and said, "Although the Date family is a young force, most of the retainers who can dominate the land of one county and one city are the old ministers who followed Date Kibi from the beginning, but Miyazawa Heihachi seems to have appeared out of thin air without a trace, only knowing that he is from Omi, and nothing else is known. ”

Rengquan Takatoyo asked again: "If Miyazawa Heihachi is out of you, do you dare to reuse it immediately?" ”

Yoshimi Masori understood what Ryosen Takatoyo was going to say, and all the things since Miyazawa Heihachi entered Numatanoso explained that this was a military general who could defend one side, but he didn't have the courage to tolerate many of his things, but Date Masahiro took it all in, whether it was good or notorious.

If someone says that Date Masaki is a puppet, a puppet at the mercy of his retainers, and the person who says this is a fool who doesn't go through his head, Date Masaki can be said to be a rare hero in the western country, and he became the lord of Kibi Shikoku at a young age, such a person will be a puppet.

But this is such a person who can tolerate Miyazawa Heihachi, Yoshimi Masari has the urge to see Date Masahiro, he raised his head to look at the egret, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly, turned back to the retainers who gathered around, and said impassionedly: "Who has the Yoshimi family relied on to survive since the ancestor Lai Xinggong? With the protection of Ouchisuke, we have a Yoshimi family. Get ready for war! The traitor Tao Longfang will definitely send troops to attack Jinheye, and he must not slack off, dig deep trenches, build fences, stock up on soldiers' rations, and be ready to fight! ”

On May 27, 1482, the 14th year of civilization, Masahiro Ouchi hosted a banquet at Yamaguchikan to entertain the ministers of the Ouchi clan, and at this banquet, Yoshimi Masayori's uncle killed the then head of the Tao clan, Tao Honggo, and Yoshimi himself was then beheaded on the spot by Naito Hiroki, which is known as the Yamaguchikan Incident. After this incident, the Yoshimi clan, which should have been severely punished, did not receive much punishment, and the Yoshimi clan not only did not receive much punishment, but also won the reuse of the Ouchi family by virtue of their meritorious service again and again.

Yoshimi Masanori's wife is the older sister of Yoshitaka Ouchi, this lady is ten years older than Yoshimi Masanori, a widow with four daughters, and her previous husband was Yoshimi Masanori's second brother, Yoshimi Takayori, the tenth head of the family who also died in Yamaguchikan.

On the 17th day of the seventh month of the 23rd year of Astronomy (i.e., 1554), Yoshimi Masarishi of Tsuwano Castle raised the banner of revenge for Yoshitaka Ouchi. (To be continued......)