The sky that had been clear was now gray. There was no wind, and the heavy, warm air seemed to be steaming from underground.

When he arrived at Imamura, Imagawa Yoshimoto's march became extremely cautious, and when he passed through a village, he always sent someone to find out the reaction of the local people, and only when there was no abnormality did he get up and advance. The reason is that before the expedition, Matsudaira Motoyasu told him that the lords of this area would stubbornly resist the Imagawa family's army.

On May 18, the third year of Eiroku, Imagawa Yoshimoto gave the order to attack the Oda family at dawn the next day. Imagawa Yoshimoto's side was heavily guarded for a while, and even he himself was fully armed.

Inside the armor of Shujiang brocade, there is a white uniform. The sword is two feet six inches long, and it is the left character of Sozo that he is proud of, and the short sword is the family heirloom Matsukura Township Yoshihiro. Imagawa Yoshimoto's fat body could not ride on horseback, so he had to sit leisurely in a palanquin inlaid with gold and silver. From time to time, he opened his eyes to look around him, constantly wiping the sweat from him.

On the 16th and 17th, he was stationed in Okazaki Castle and made the final preparations for battle. Today, we will rest in the city for the time being, and tomorrow at dawn we will begin our general attack. In short, it is necessary to let the main force arrive under the Great High Castle tomorrow. The striker had entered the Narumi area yesterday and continued to set fires to the surrounding villages. Yoshimoto Imagawa wiped his sweat while looking at the map and the troop deployment on his legs.

According to the formation, when it was almost dawn, General Matsudaira Motoyasu led more than 2,500 Okazaki people to attack Marune. Marune's keeper is the battle-hardened Sakuma University. Motoyasu is still very young, but the seasoned Okazaki retainers will not fail lightly.

Asahina Taino will also lead 2,000 men to attack Washizu. The enemy general is Oda Genbo Nobuhei, an old and spicy general. Therefore, he sent Miura to lead 3,000 reinforcements to prevent accidents. In addition, Okabe Motonobu was sent to lead 700 recruits to defend the Narumi Castle that was about to be captured. Asai Masatoshi led 1,500 men to defend the castle that was about to be captured. The pelican hall of Dagao City is in short supply. Ready to reinforce Matsudaira Motoyasu or Asahina Taino.

This time, the formation can be said to be foolproof. The Imagawa family seems to be about to win a big victory. Imagawa Yoshimoto completed the arrangement and personally led the 5,000 men and horses under Katsuyama Nobusada to advance to Kiyosu Castle.

It doesn't matter whether Oda Nobunaga withdraws or defends, or takes command in person. Even if the 5,000 men and horses of the Geshan Division are defeated, the 5,000 main forces that came later will join forces with the original troops to besiege Qingzhou Castle, and the strength will reach 10,000 at that time. And. Matsudaira, Asahina, and Miura will take advantage of the situation to attack Kiyosu Castle......

On the side of Kiyoshu Castle, on the 18th, Oda Nobunaga did not issue any orders. In the evening, a small drum suddenly sounded from the room, and at the request of the retainers, Oda Nobunaga's close guard Iwamuro Shigekyu had to enter to take a look, and it turned out that Oda Nobunaga was gathering his four children to listen to him play the small drum!

After Iwamuro withdrew from the room, he answered the questions of the retainers about hearing the drums.

"What? He gathered the little ones?"

"Yes! There are the eldest male wonderful pill, the second male tea whisk pill, and the third male three-seven pill...... That's right! Sanqi pills are still held by the nurse! In addition, the other three concubines also sat behind the lady together......"

Then it means that he has made up his mind! This is a symbol of farewell. I guess he's going to do a night attack tonight. ”

"Night raid? Do you want to run to the city in one go?"

"You may be able to attack the city in one go! It is said that just before Imagawa Yoshimoto's main battle, there were more than 20,000 troops advancing. ”

"Anyway. Waiting for the lord to give orders is a very troublesome thing!"

All the retainers were talking about it, and they all stood up. But it wasn't long before everyone was quiet again. At this time, stars gradually appeared in the sky, and Katsuzaburo Ikeda stepped out of the room.

"Everyone's done a great job. That's all for today, so please go back and rest well! These are what His Highness wants me to convey to you. Thus he said to the people.

Everyone was so amazed that they couldn't say anything! It doesn't get much more puzzling than that! The enemy's commander-in-chief, Yoshimoto Imagawa, had already arrived in Sakaigawa and was about to enter Owari, and at such an important moment, Lord Nobunaga was ......

"Do you want me to wait until I go back and get some rest?" It's really puzzling. But in the end, everyone walked out of the city like this, and of course, they were still talking:

"What a strange thing!"

"That's right!"

"And we have to take off our combat shoes, it's cooler."

"That's right! He also asked us to go back to sleep and wait for news from him. ”

"Say he's an old fox, he's really an old fox!"

"Nope! There may be no enemies in the eyes of the lord at all!"

"There are no enemies in my eyes, only stars. Yes! Beautiful stars! And so the crowd went. Oda Nobunaga also rested earlier than usual this night.

In comparison, Imagawa Yoshimoto was much more miserable, he slept in the middle of the academy that night, with two guards on each side to ward off mosquitoes, but this night he tossed and turned, and it was difficult to sleep. This was not due to the nervousness of his battle with Oda Nobunaga, but the fact that the environment was so different from the Sunfu dwelling, the abundance of mosquitoes, and the extreme heat of the climate prevented him from sleeping for a long time. He finally fell asleep at two o'clock in the middle of the night, and when he opened his eyes again, it was already high in the sky.

"Hey! Hurry up and get the fan!" Yoshimoto Imagawa ordered the guards around him.

"You've already started fighting, right? Is there any news from the front?" Then, he asked lightly.

"Yes! So far no news has come. Are you going to ride a sedan chair or a horse today?" At this time, Asagawa Masatoshi, who had been guarding him all night, asked with his hands crossed.

"What? Do you still need to ride a horse for the Oda family (this is what the local lords called Oda Nobunaga in the past) of the Oda family? Imagawa Yoshimoto replied. Then I started washing my face, combing and turning it into a dumpling.

This answer means that there is no need for him to ride a horse today. This is also due to the fact that he is too fat, and if he rides a horse, he will be injured by two strands, so that when it is time to attack Qingzhou City. He will not be able to command on horseback.

"Good! Bring me my shoes!" After the rice is melted. Yoshimoto Imagawa suddenly stood up in front of the others. Due to his very obese body. Therefore, the buttons and laces of his gloves must be swept by the guards, otherwise he will not be able to put them on, and two people must help him put them on!

"Good! Breakfast can be delivered! I'm going to warm up the food. ”

"Yes!"

"If it weren't for me, no one would have been able to endure it. If it were someone else, I wouldn't be able to bear it for a long time. As Yoshimoto Imagawa said, in such a hot season, he wore luxurious equipment that tightly covered his chest and the shoes he wore on his feet. Although it looks gorgeous, it is actually very muggy.

When all the outfits were dressed, the guards took a leopard skin and spread it on the Tang cabinet, and then invited Imagawa Yoshimoto to sit down on it.

"Hurry up! Hurry up and help me leak!" He urged! At this time, news finally came from the first front.

Matsudaira Motoyasu's troops, who went out to attack Marune before the end of the day, were counterattacked by the enemy general Sakuma University as soon as they left the siege gate, and now they are in a bitter battle!

"What? Is Sheng Zhong so brave? Hurry up and tell Sù Yuankang, he can't retreat a single step, I've already come out of the city, do you want me to retreat?" At this time, Yuanyasu's envoy was ordered to go back again!

"Yoshihisa! Yoshihisa!" Imagawa Yoshimoto eagerly called out Horikoshi Yoshihisa's name.

"Yuankang, this guy seems to be about to be unable to support it, you hurry up and sue Sù Dianzhao for the long time. He was asked to send troops to help at this critical moment. Send a messenger to inform him at once, as soon as we get out of here. I will never return to the city again, and he will have to save face for me!"

"Yes!"

"But in any case, the heat today is unbearable. Today seems to be hotter than yesterday!" After Imagawa Yoshimoto finished breakfast, there was still half an hour before the scheduled departure time from the castle, and the current time was only set to be about eight o'clock in the morning. But the general still decided to start walking, and even the little guard beside him was sweating.

Imagawa Yoshimoto was wearing a large armor that covered his entire body, and the sun was shining in the summer, and there was no trace of wind in the air, and even the leaves of the plants and trees were withered, let alone people, and this was a veritable summer in the Owari Plains.

In contrast, Oda Nobunaga, who knew the weather well, didn't even wear shoes in Kiyosu Castle, but Imagawa Yoshimoto was the opposite, in order to impress the people nearby and let the people understand the majesty of his general Kamiraku, he specially dressed like this. Now he sat in the sedan chair and frowned, sweat dripping down his forehead.

Out of the city, less than ten steps away, a "salute" appeared, so the group stopped halfway again. The so-called "rites" meant that whenever a new lord or conqueror arrived, the local population immediately paid tribute to please the new lord.

"Report!" Horikoshi Yoshihisa, who was walking beside him, stopped his horse and said, "The salutes in this neighborhood would like you to meet them." ”

"Is it the people?"

"Yes. There were also priests and monks. ”

"I don't see. I've heard that there are wild samurai lurking in this area with a rather bad character, so I'll let you meet them on my behalf! You sue them, Imagawa Jibe Osa will never abuse the people, please rest assured!"

The appearance of the Rite was by no means unpleasant for a new conqueror. However, in the middle of this sun-drenched and dusty road, it was too hot, so Imagawa Yoshimoto even felt troubled to leave the sedan chair.

"Alright! I'll tell them so, and now I'll ask you to look at this. ”

He handed the list of tributes to the salute into the sedan chair, and then rode forward on horseback. The troops began to move on again. After that, nothing happened, and the brigade marched west to the streets of Kamakura. When they reached the hill at the front of Taizigen, a place called Tian Lewa, the advancing procession stopped again. There is another place in Tian Lewa called Tian Lewan.

At this time, Imagawa Yoshimoto already felt drowsy in the sedan chair. In the sleepy eyes, he seemed to see hundreds of civil and military officials lining up to greet him, just like the courtiers greeted the monarch in the court ceremony.

"Oh! Have I become the commander of the world?" In fact, this was just his fantasy, and the moment the sedan chair stopped, his dream disappeared, but he still subconsciously sweated.

"What's the matter?" Imagawa Yoshimoto poked his head out of the sedan chair and shouted to the guards beside him.

"Report!"

"What's the matter?"

"Matsudaira Motoyasu has news for the second time."

"What? Motoyasu! What the hell is going on......" As he said this, Horikoshi Yoshihisa said:

"That's good news! He had already captured Marone alone. ”

"What? Has the maruken been removed?"

"Yes. The rank of seven people, including the Maru Castle Shogun Sakuma University Morishige and his lieutenant general, had been taken down by him, about ten o'clock. Motoyasu worked hard to achieve this victory. Now he's moving forward again!"

"Good! Kill the guards! Good! Hahaha! Imagawa's stomach fluttered with laughter.

"Motoyasu...... Good! That's a great thing! Now you go back and sue Sù Yuanyasu right away. ”

"Yes!"

"I'm very relieved. Matsudaira Motoyasu is the person who has achieved the greatest achievements in today's battle, and he is asked to enter Datakao Castle today so that the soldiers can rest well. ”

"Yes!"

"That's right! and immediately informed the Urinje Nagashi, asking him not to go to support Yuanyasu. I want him to rush towards Qingzhou City with all his strength, and he must not lose to Yuanyasu!"

"I see!" Yoshihisa received the order and drove away again, and Imagawa Yoshimoto shook his body again and laughed.

"That nerd of the Oda family isn't very good! Looks like I'll be able to spend the night in Cheongju Castle tomorrow! Hahaha...... "It was close to four o'clock on the afternoon of the 19th

And on the side of the Oda family, in the middle of the night of the 18th...... No! A more correct statement would be at two o'clock in the morning on the 19th. Oda Nobunaga, who usually went to bed earlier, had someone come to the dormitory.

"My lord! Lord!" The person who shouted loudly outside was none other than Kinoshita Toyoshiro.

"Monkeys?"

"Yes! I've already figured out the direction in which the Ōsa's troops are heading! On the night of the 19th they will be stationed in the Great High City!" In fact, this was the information obtained by Kizo Shigetaka using the local intelligence network of the Luo family's intelligence cabinet. But Kinoshita Toyoshiro, as the passer, doesn't mind sharing this credit with himself.

"What? Big Taka City?" Oda Nobunaga didn't say another word and immediately got up.

"Good! Go blow the trumpet!" Oda Nobunaga commanded.

"Bring me my shoes!" He shouted into the next room again.

At this time, it was the time for every family to sleep peacefully, and no one should have answered, but suddenly someone answered, "Your shoes are ready!" Go get it!"

Nobunaga's Madame replied cautiously, no, not just Madame!

"Yes!" The same was answered in the room next door to his room. Two of his close guards then brought his shoes from the shoe closet in less than thirty seconds.

"And! Let's all light the lights, women!"

As if everyone was waiting for this moment to come, Madame's voice was extremely excited. At this time, the three maids who answered the call also entered the room with a candlestick. In an instant, the room became very bright, but it was not the maid who entered, but Oda Nobunaga's three concubines, Azuki, Nana, and Fuyuki.

By this time, Oda Nobunaga had been dressed in armor by the guards. In the past, before he counted to sixty in the time of Master Kichipo, he could be helped to put on his shoes; Therefore, Oda Nobunaga hoped that the guards around him would do the same. So he often let them practice. In the blink of an eye, he was fully equipped.

"Rice!" He screamed.

"Yes!" The one who answered was deep snow.

"It's a very important battle. Don't forget to bring us the sake we have prepared and the chestnuts that represent victory!" Madame reminded again.

"Okay! Oh! Ahh You go and bring the kids here. ”

At this moment, the first horn was suddenly heard in the night sky. Finally, the Tiger of Owari, who had been fighting against Sunfu, rose up. Tigers grow in the mountains and fields, so they don't fight dragons that soar among the clouds; It waits until the dragon is within range of its jump before it gives it a go. As a result, he suppressed his fighting spirit, making the enemy mistakenly believe that he had decided to defend the city.

"Where's your two knives?" Madame asked.

"Guangzhong! Guozhong!" When he replied, there was no sense of space between the two. Compared with Nohime, who often quarreled with Nobunaga in history, the daughter of Saito Michizo, who married Nobunaga instead of Nohime in this life, is more docile and more compatible with Nobunaga.

"Yes! Guangzhong is here. So he stuck the knife under his armpit, and the next person who came in was Hasegawa Hashisuke.

"Is the country heavy?"

"Yes! I guess you're probably going to have to use the national weight, so I brought it here. ”

"Hah! Ha! Hah!"

Oda Nobunaga laughed loudly. Then he looked at Madame again and returned to the room to Yoshiro Fuji. Said:

"Madame! Monkey! We won!"

"As you say!"

"You little clever. You see! Even Hashisuke can understand my mind. This is a good omen and we will be victorious. ”

Then the trumpet sounded again, but no one ran into the city. And no wonder! It's been less than five minutes since Oda Nobunaga got up! …… After Oda Nobunaga took the love knife Hasebe Kunishige, he came to the things that Miyuki had brought in front of him.

"Cup!"

"Yes! I'll pour you wine! The lady stood up and took the cup from her husband's hand, and poured into it the divine wine, which was the wine of blessing before the battle and the wine that represented parting. But at this time, no one has time to feel sad.

Oda Nobunaga drank the sake in one gulp, then reached out and took the rice bowl that Suyuki handed him. By this time, Ah had come with the children who had been woken up from their sleep.

"That's what war is all about. You must keep it in mind!"

Oda Nobunaga said in a tone of lesson. He just stood and ate four bowls of rice, swallowed the rice and soup into his stomach, then threw away his chopsticks, picked up the knife and walked out of the house, shouting loudly at the same time:

"Monkey! Come on!"

"Yes!"

Fujiyoshiro followed closely behind Oda Nobunaga.

"It's up to you to lead the horse for me today!"

"Yes! That's what I thought at the beginning. ”

"Where's the horse?"

"Wind!" Fujiyoshiro replied first.

"Wind! We're going to war! Be quick! Be quick!" Ma Zaomi waited in front of the entrance, its eyes also shining brightly, and stood there very majestically.

"Let's go to Atsuta Jingu first! Come along, everybody!" However, there are only a handful of people who follow behind.

At this time, there was finally a light in the nearby room waiting for the guard. This is their preparation to rise up and fight. Some of them were carrying their shoes and galloping out of the city on horseback.

"Where's the lord? Where's the lord?"

"The lord has already left the city!"

"What? He...... Which direction is he going?"

"Go to the temple of Atsuta Jingu."

"Atsuta...... Didn't he lead the army?"

"The lord was followed by only five horses."

"What? Five horses?"

"Yes! It is the lord's little guard Iwamuro, Hasegawa, Sawaki, Kato and Kinoshita Fujiyoshiro who leads the horse for His Royal Highness. There are only six people in total, so you have to hurry!" The gatekeeper replied. The men hurried to Atsuta with their shoes in hand.

Summer nights are extremely short. At this time, the sky above the castle had already shown a glimmer of light. Oda Nobunaga rode on horseback. Occasionally bowed his head and said to Fujiyoshiro:

"Monkey! Let's go around here!"

"Okay!" Fujiyoshiro once proudly claimed that he could talk to horses, but now his steps and the way he leads the horses are indeed very beautiful.

"Good! Gale, let's take a spin here! Because the lord wants to see how many people will follow behind! And voila! And voila! No matter how you look at it, there are only four horses!"

Five horses, including Oda Nobunaga, had already reached the halfway point of three miles from Atsuta, but the number of people following them had not increased.

"Alright! Let's go straight to the temple!"

The group came to the temple like this, and Oda Nobunaga shouted loudly as usual:

"Yu-an! Yuan!" He screamed twice.

When the club Kato Shosuke Shunmori heard the shout, he immediately replied, "Oh! His Royal Highness Qingzhou is going to battle! Take the red rice, get the red rice!"

The red rice that had been prepared in advance was quickly served, and it was not Oda Nobunaga who asked them to prepare the red rice in advance and wait for him to come. The day before, there had been a Oda Nobunaga Yubi Takeshi and Higo entered the Doyu-an to spend the night at Kato's house. In fact, Oda Nobunaga just called by his name.

Shusuke confuses Yuan and red rice because the two nouns sound very close. At this time, Takei Yuan, who was ready, also hurried to the front of the company.

"Yuan, where's the article?"

"Yes! Over here! Lord, are these the only people?"

"They will come at once, call the book assistant, and say that they want to give him the wish!"

"Okay! I understand!"

"Hashisuke! Stand on my left with a bow and arrows, and come with me on my right with my iron bag."

"Yes!" There were only six people in total, and the other two had to take care of the horses except Fujiyoshiro, so Oda Nobunaga slowly made his way to the temple.

At this time, the book assistant who appeared with Xi'an also followed: "Lord! Twenty or thirty more will arrive at once. They all came to the temple together, and some of them didn't even have their shoes on!"

"Good! Let's start worshipping God!"

"Yes!"

In the center of the shrine there is a table dedicated to the statue, and Oda Nobunaga stands in front of it, Hasegawa Hashisuke with a bow and arrow on the left, Iwamuro Shigekyu with an iron pocket of Oda Nobunaga on the right, and Takei Yuan in the back. It was a quiet morning, and the atmosphere was even stricter because of the small number of people.

After the worship began, Oda Nobunaga began to shout again:

"Yuan!" He seemed to be urging him angrily. Yuan replied "yes", stepped forward to stand alongside Oda Nobunaga, and then took out the vows that Oda Nobunaga had ordered him to make, and recited it in a slightly trembling voice:

"The source of Imagawa Yoshimoto in Suruga, Enoe, Mikawa and other three kingdoms of power, his heart of the unfixed track has long been revealed.

This time, he conspired to lead an army of 40,000 to invade the land of Jingluo. Oda Nobunaga of Taira rose up to fight against him in order to crush his plot, and although our army was only a few thousand, like a mosquito biting an iron ox, my heart was full of loyalty and no selfishness. I am worried about the decline of the royal road and save the people, so I have this righteous act! I hereby announce this to the world......"

Xi'an was very nervous about the words used in the prayer, and from time to time he lowered his head as if he was afraid, and there were beads of sweat the size of beans on his forehead. When he finished reciting, he handed the vows to Oda Nobunaga.

"Good!"

Oda Nobunaga took the prayer and said, and then walked to the nave of the temple. Hasegawa Hashisuke and Iwamuro Shigekyu also followed Oda Nobunaga with a nervous face, and the two quietly accompanied Oda Nobunaga to stand in the silent temple.

When Oda Nobunaga entered the central nave, he presented his sword and vows to Kato Shosuke, and then began to beat them high. These actions are all about expressing one's will.

Later, the retainers who came with him also gathered in front of the temple and tilted their heads to watch. Because it's really not like Oda Nobunaga, Oda Nobunaga has never behaved like this. He had thrown away the incense that had been placed in front of his father's tablet, but now he gave it respectfully, and slapped it with his cypress hand......

By this time nearly two hundred people had gathered, and they looked at each other, some of them whispering uneasily:

"When he can't do it himself, does he want to rely on the power of God?"

"Maybe!"

After slapping with Kashiwa's hand, Oda Nobunaga turned to the right. His eyes were shining, and his eyebrows were raised like ghosts. His retinue on his left and right also walked out of the nave with wide eyes!

"You're all late!" Oda Nobunaga sharply rebuked: "There is one thing that must be told to you, that is, I have already delivered the vows to the shrine, and you can hear the voice of Jin Ge coming out of the ancestral hall, which means that I have the intention of destroying evil and showing righteousness, and it also represents the proof that Atsuta Warrior God has accepted it." Our war will be won, you need not doubt it! If anyone still has doubts in his heart, I will immediately behead him.

Only then did everyone realize that he did not want to rely on the power of the gods. He is like an asura idol, with an ironclad level of confidence.

(Thanks to "Shenluan" for the support of 1oo points in a row.) (To be continued!)

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