Yu Qiuping and his party of four traveled through the mountains for a day and a night, and finally arrived in the mountainous area near Yiyumu. Here, Yu Qiuping saw for the first time the flags of his own troops, including the flags of the winery and the prairie fire.
They built a huge camp in Yiyumu, blocking the Sanhao army to the west.
"Your Highness, please be patient. I'm going to investigate first." Sen Kelong had already woken up at this time. Seeing that he was about to be safe, he was still worried about letting Yu Qiuping take risks and raised his hand to stop him.
"Koron, you'd better rest well for your injury." Yu Qiuping waved his hand and signaled Mori Koron who was riding the horse not to take action. At the same time, he said to Asahina Matsuchiyo, "Matsuchiyo, please go and explore the road.
.”
"Yes." Asahina Matsuchiyo bowed to Yuqiu and prepared to turn around and leave. This desperate encounter between life and death made this naughty child mature a lot, and he already had a vague look like a warrior.
"You performed well this time. You stayed calm in the face of danger and saved Koron's life." Yu Qiuping smiled and touched Asahina Matsuchiyo's head. "When I go back this time, I will give you Yuanfu."
"Really?" Matsuchiyo Asahina's eyes lit up when she heard this, and her thick eyebrows curved happily. At that moment, Yu Qiuping suddenly saw the shadow of Asahina Taehyung in him.
"You smile exactly like your father." Yu Qiuping chuckled with some emotion, "Go quickly."
Asahina Matsuchiyo rode the biwa down the mountain, and soon came back on horseback. Behind him, there were Kohata Yoshimori, Maeda Keiji, Fukuzawa Yunan and other officers.
"Your Highness, you are back! You have made us worried!" When Maeda Keiji saw Yu Qiuping, he gave Yu Qiuping a bear hug without saying a word, and even lifted Yu Qiuping high, "These days, Sanhao's family
The ninjas have been spreading rumors that you have been killed by them! They also made a fake head and hung it on a pole, which made us panic! We sent people to search in the mountains, but they couldn't find you.
! Some people suggested that we should quickly find a way to send an envoy back to Kinki to let the young master succeed to the throne!"
"There is no master in the army, and people's hearts are uncertain. The Red Leaf Army has always been strictly disciplined, and the officers have worked hard to suppress it, so they can maintain stability." Fukuzawa Yunan also added, "But we are also under great pressure. Your Highness will not
When we come back, we can hardly bear it anymore."
Yu Qiuping naturally understood their pressure, because he had personal experience. In Owari, Imagawa Yoshimoto died unexpectedly, and the powerful Imagawa army even broke out in a civil war because they were leaderless. They were able to survive Yu Qiuping's disappearance for nearly two days.
It is really not easy to stabilize the situation under such circumstances.
"Have you never suspected that I am dead?" Yu Qiuping whispered in confusion, "You can't find me, so why do you believe that I must still be alive?"
"You, you can run faster than a rabbit, how can you die so easily! Besides, isn't there Heihachiro? With Heihachiro here, without a thousand or eight hundred people, who can hurt you?" Maeda Keiji smiled and pulled him away.
Guoyu Qiuping said, "Hurry back and put on your maple bird horse seal! Stabilize the morale of the army!"
When the Maple Bird Horse Seal of Yuqiu Hongye rose again in the army, the camp of the Hongye Army suddenly erupted with overwhelming cheers. Yu Qiuping personally boarded the post in the camp and waved to the entire army. Originally, people were panic-stricken.
The morale of the troops was instantly high, and the Sanhao Army, which had originally planned to launch an attack in the morning, stopped after seeing Yu Qiuping's flag.
"Almost." Tokawa Icun stood beside Anzhai Fuyasu and Miyoshi Yixian, and he hit the wooden fence with his fist with some anger and self-blame.
The fence bent the piece of wood, "It was just a little bit close to killing him."
"It doesn't matter, fourth brother, your attack was originally a temporary move. We didn't plan to kill Yuqiu Hongye in that battle, we just wanted to consume their strength." Miyoshi Yixian shook his head, indicating that Tokawa Issun shouldn't blame himself.
"After Kira Chisada sent someone to ask for help, he deliberately let his messenger break through to Yuqiu Hongye to make him suspicious and dare not attack the city. During the siege, he deliberately exposed a loophole to allow Kira Chisada to break through and attract the Hongye army to support.
And defeated. This plan has been successful, hasn't it? Kira's army has been annihilated, and the Ryujubei suffered nearly 20% casualties, and its combat power was also damaged. If the Ryouyuanbei had not arrived in time, Iyuki would have been destroyed at this moment.
We took it."
"But the Hongye Army is in a tight position, and with those 6 large barrels and 900 iron cannons, there is nothing we can do against them." Shihe Yicun glanced at the Hongye Army's solid camp, with a ruthless look on his face, "
Or it will be a bloody battle to capture the position."
"No, the Red Leaf Army doesn't dare to defend against the danger." Anzhai Toyasu smiled and patted the fence that was bent by Tokawa Ichin, "We have the Awaji Marine Army, and all land passes are meaningless.
As long as we take a boat and land behind them, we can force them to retreat."
"Yes, we mainly relied on the Awaji Navy for this battle." Miyoshi Yoshiken sneered and nodded, "We controlled the sea, blocked the four countries, made Yuqiu Hongye unable to return, and completely strangled him in the four countries.
This eliminates the serious problem that has plagued our Sanhao family for ten years. However, in order to prevent Yuqiu Hongye from retreating to the coastal areas and holding on until we run out of food and retreat, I still have some 'gifts' to give to him, and I will give one to Chang Zong.
I am the Yuanqin."
On May 15, the Awaji Navy carried Awazu, passed by Kojin Cape, and sailed toward the northeast. After the Momiji Army's sentry on the coast discovered the Awaji Navy, they immediately reported to Yu Qiupei.
"They want to bypass our front positions from the sea and land behind us." Fukuzawa Yunan thought for a moment and then made a judgment, "It's not the autumn harvest yet, so they are definitely not withdrawing their troops, but they are trying to outflank us in a roundabout way.
.”
"You are right." Yu Qiuping nodded, and the image of MacArthur holding a pipe appeared in his mind, "This is called leapfrog combat. Use naval forces to bypass the enemy's defensive positions and go around behind to land.
"
"Leaping frog? It's quite impressive. You are worthy of your Highness." Fuze Yunan was stunned for a moment and smiled bitterly at Yu Qiuping, "But it's really difficult for us to deal with it, so we have to retreat. If we are attacked by them from both front and rear, not only will we have to
If we are attacked from the front and back, our food routes will also be cut off."
"But where should we retreat?" Yoshioka Katsumasa raised his hand with some dissatisfaction, "We retreat, and they continue to move forward. Do we have to retreat all the way to Okafeng Castle?"
"That's why I said that the navy is important. Without the navy, our battle on the seaside would be like missing a leg. Tactically, we can only be hung up." Yu Qiuping spread his hands and nodded helplessly.
"You are right. We may really have to retreat to the vicinity of Okafeng Castle. Only wherever we retreat can our troops be enough to defend all landing points."
"Your Highness, I have an idea." Yoshioka Katsumasa smiled, put his head next to the sand table and said, "We might as well take advantage of the time when Awa Zhong and the Awaji Navy went to sea to raid Juga Ichibu and leave them on the ground.
Sanuki people! Our two reserves plus the cavalry company have about 3,000 soldiers available, and Tokawa Icun only has 3,000 soldiers. Let's kill Tokawa Icun first, and then turn around to clear up the landing.
of
Bo Zhong!”
Yoshioka Katsumasa's idea made everyone's eyes light up. It must be said that this idea is really tempting. Although the Miyoshi family's leapfrog tactic made full use of the advantages of the navy, it made the mistake of dividing the troops.
After defeating the Kira Army and forcing Kira Okasada to lead the remnants back to Okatoyo Castle, the Miyoshi family's troops originally had a 2:1 strength advantage over the Momiji Army. However, as Awa Zhong went to sea, the Sanuki people and Momiji Army on the ground
It's almost 1:1.
"Let's forget it." After weighing for a while, Yu Qiuping made a conservative choice, "The mountain road is narrow, it is difficult for the troops to deploy, and the surprise attack can easily fall into a protracted battle. When the Awa people land from behind, we will be finished.
Moreover, if we win this battle, the most we can do is to retreat to the Nakamura Imperial Palace and wait for the Awa Zhong to land before counterattacking. But if we lose, the Awa Zhong will only need to cut off our retreat, and the Red Leaf Army will be doomed.
"
"After all, you have to take risks! How can you win with half the strength of the opponent?" Ji Gang Shengzheng was very dissatisfied with Yu Qiuping's conservatism. "Your Highness, this opportunity must not be missed, or it will never come again!"
"No, it's too risky." Yu Qiuping shook his head and firmly refused, "If it was Awa Zhong who stayed on the road, I might still consider this plan. After all, Awa Zhong and Miyoshi Yixian are not known for being good at fighting. But
The ones who stay here are the Sanukis. Do you think it is possible for us to quickly defeat the Sankis in a frontal battle on a narrow mountain road? We can defeat the Kira army with a single charge across the river, and then pursue us.
Your Highness, the miserable Ghost Shihe!"
"Retreat." After Yu Qiuping made up his mind, his subordinates still decisively began to execute the order even if they did not agree with this decision. This is the excellent tradition of the Hongye Army. The previous losses were not small, and the wine prepared to retreat first, starting a prairie fire.
Bi is responsible for breaking up the rear and preventing the Sanuki people following from launching a surprise attack.
On the afternoon of May 15th, the Momiji Army retreated from Kubokawa Castle. The castle lord Toshimitsu Kubokawa abandoned the castle and retreated with the Momiji Army. Kubokawa Castle was subsequently occupied by Tokawa Ichino. On May 16, the Momiji Army withdrew from Kuri. This was also
This marked the complete suppression of Nishi Tosa by the Miyoshi family. On the evening of May 16, the Momiji Army arrived at Susaki Castle, an important town in central Tosa, while the Awaji Navy was wandering in the Kuri Oki sea area south of Susaki Castle and had a tendency to continue to advance eastward.
Therefore, Yu Qiuping planned to retreat further to ensure the safety of the back road.
However, such a large-scale retreat of the Hongye Army aroused dissatisfaction and worry of Chosonggabe Motochin. He suspected that the Hongye Army was unwilling to fight to the death for the Chosonggabe family and deliberately avoided the battle. In addition, Yu Qiupei had been killed by Toga before.
Icun's pursuit was so embarrassing that he even doubted the combat effectiveness of the Hongye Army. The loss of Nishi Tosa made the Chosou family very depressed. The morale of the troops on the front line was low, and some retainers even began to abuse Yu Qiuping. Although
Kira Okasada, who returned from defeat, took the initiative to explain the situation to everyone, taking all the responsibility for the defeat of Nishi Tosa on himself, and insisted that without the generous support of the Momiji Army, the Kira family would have been doomed;
The retainers of the family still attributed the fall of Nishi Tosa to Yu Qiuping, and those retainers whose territory was in Nishi Tosa were especially angry. They were too embarrassed to directly accuse Chosong Gabu Motochin, so they could only point at the monk and scold Yu Qiuping.
To express his dissatisfaction with Chozonggabe Motochin, fierce public opinion forced Chozonggabu Motochin to express his attitude to Yu Qiuping.
However, out of alliance ties, Chosogabe Motochin did not directly accuse Yu Qiupei. Instead, he asked Kutake, the lord of Susaki Castle, to convey a message from Chosonggabu Motochin to Yu Qiupei: I hope Yu Qiupei
Chapter completed!