On the night of February 2nd, the eighth year of Tianzheng Period (1580), Gaotian City.
After nightfall, it was difficult to see even one's finger in the moonless night. However, the Tokugawa military camp surrounding Gaotian Castle was full of torches to prevent anyone from taking the opportunity to break out or escape.
At the top of Gaotian City, two hanging baskets were already ready in the darkness.
"Brother." Okabe Masatsuna escorted Okabe Motonobu to the city head with some uneasiness. He looked at Okabe Motonobu who had changed into a commoner suit and several followers, "This Gaotian God Castle is high and deep, we are in the city.
What's wrong with standing here and waiting for help? You risked abandoning the city and fleeing. Let's not talk about whether the morale of the defenders will collapse after the incident is discovered. How can you and a few followers break through the dragnet? If you are caught, you can
If everything is over, it’s better to stay in this city.”
"I know that fleeing alone means a narrow escape, but staying in the city means just waiting to be killed." Okabe Motonobu checked the rope of the hanging basket one last time, "Didn't you hear the sound of cannons around the small mountain city today? There were probably dozens of them.
The big gate...the small mountain city will not be able to hold it tomorrow at most, and with so many big gates, Gaotian Divine City will not be able to hold on for a few days."
"Aren't there reinforcements?"
"Amaki Momiji has already crossed the Oigawa River, and His Highness Anayama has no chance of rescuing the siege. Only when reinforcements from the Hojo and Takeda families arrive will we be able to fight, and we may not be able to win," Okabe Motobu sighed.
He shook his head and said, "It will be at least five or six days later. By then, Gaotian Divine City will have been lost."
"This Yuqiu Hongye..." Okabe Masatsuna gritted his teeth with hatred, "Are you really going to drive out all the members of the Imagawa family?"
"Don't worry, the person he's looking for is not you, but me. Even if you surrender, you won't have any trouble." Okabe Motonobu patted Okabe Masatsuna on the shoulder, "Take care.
, if my brother and I encounter an accident, I’ll ask Quanzi for help.”
"Take care along the way." Okabe Masatsuna bowed to his brother and watched Okabe Motonobu slide down the hanging basket with a few followers. After the people in the hanging basket jumped out one after another, several guards
Just start pulling the hanging basket up.
"Hey, why is it a bit heavy?" Several guards murmured in surprise, but they quickly pulled the hanging basket up. When they moved the hanging basket back to the city, they discovered that Okabe Motobu did not
He left and followed the hanging basket down instead.
"Brother?" Okabe Masatsuna was stunned when he saw this.
"There is a hidden sentry, just on the edge of the city. I saw it. It is probably someone from the Yuqiu family's military intelligence department." Okabe Motonobu cursed in a low voice, "I can only let the followers be used as bait. Unexpectedly, Yu Qiu's family
So many ninjas from the Qiu family have come to this castle town of Gaotian God City."
"What should we do?" Okabe Masatsuna asked, not knowing what was wrong. "Isn't there no way out?"
"There is another way." Okabe Motonobu took a deep breath, then quickly walked down the stairs, muttering, "What a shame for a samurai..."
·
At this time, outside Gaotian Divine City.
"Here we come." Uchiha Aooka, who was hiding in the castle town, looked at several figures moving slowly in the darkness. There was no moon tonight and the light was very dark. It was indeed a good escape to quietly lower the gondola from the top of the city.
Choice. However, Uchiha Aooka had anticipated this. The ninjas of the Military Intelligence Department were lurking in every corner of the castle town, observing every move around the city from all directions, and even the slightest movement would be discovered.
"Don't alarm the snake, this may be a trick to lure the tiger away from the mountain, follow him." Uchiha Aooka whispered to several jonin around him, and immediately a dozen elite ninjas secretly chased after him.
However, Uchiha Aooka did not act rashly, but continued to stay there and stare at the city. Sure enough, not long after, a ninja who was watching in the south city came over.
"Sir, Nancheng has also put down the hanging basket."
"Continue to send people to keep an eye on you secretly, and don't act rashly." Uchiha Aooka had already ordered calmly. In this battle, the Hongye Army invested a large number of ninjas from the Military Intelligence Department. He fully had the manpower and capital to carry out a saturated pursuit - there was no need to judge which group was
As bait, each group sends out enough people.
However, not long after, he discovered the third group, the fourth group, and the fifth group of hanging baskets...
"There's a problem." Uchiha Aooka's face gradually turned cold. "If he didn't find the hidden whistle, there would be no need to prepare so many baits. If he found the hidden whistle, what's the point of preparing so many baits? Did he think that the Military Intelligence Department was coming?
Are there only a hundred or so ninjas?"
Uchiha Aooka lowered his head and pondered for a long time, and suddenly realized something. He stood up suddenly, and whispered to all the remaining leading jounin around him, "Immediately spread out and search for everything in the castle town."
Sewers and ditches! Investigate in all directions at the same time. If you find anyone with a strange smell on your body, immediately stop and question them!"
·
"finally…"
Okabe Motonobu staggered up. The stench of feces and urine on his body and in his clothes made him dizzy. He had just crawled out of a toilet tunnel in Gaotianjin Castle and climbed to the castle town.
In the gathering area, this was a humiliation even more unbearable than death for a warrior.
However, his humiliation was not over yet. He knew that such a strong smell on his body would definitely attract attention, and it would be very risky to take the escape route that he had arranged before. However, he had already prepared a secondary strategy. Gao Tianshen
The castle is isolated over the river, and it is the city at the forefront of the Takeda family. Okabe Gennobu had already made plans for the city to be broken and forced to flee. Therefore, he secretly dug a secret passage in the castle town that leads directly to the southern beach. But
I haven't used it for many years, so I don't know if it can still be used now.
He stumbled around the castle town, fearing that he would encounter the ninjas from the Yuqiu family's military intelligence department, and finally found the warehouse in the darkness based on his memory. He did not dare to push the heavy door open, so he had to find it through the straw pile on the side.
He drilled a small hole into the warehouse. He moved a wooden box, revealing a stone slab underneath. He bent down and tried his best to move the stone slab away, revealing a gap at the bottom. Climbing down the gap, he was
That tunnel was dug a long time ago.
It was pitch dark in the tunnel, and he couldn't see anything. He could only faintly touch a large number of spider webs and dead rats, exuding an unbearable stench. Okabe Motobu climbed forward with his head sullen, not even knowing what might happen in front of him.
The road was blocked, and he could still crawl back. After being scared in the dark for who knows how long, he finally heard the faint sound of the tide.
But what will happen even if he climbs out? The Red Leaf Fleet has been wandering in this sea area for a long time. The reason why Okabe Gennobu was unwilling to take this secret passage before was that he was worried that he would be discovered by the Red Leaf Fleet as soon as he arrived on the beach.
The time is really desperate.
Thinking of this, Okabe Motonobu slowed down his crawling speed and even wanted to retreat. However, the ominous premonition in his heart became more and more intense - the commander of the ninjas of the Yuqiu family seemed to be a good hand, and he might have traced the tunnel for his escape.
Returning at this time is equally dangerous and unusual.
Thinking of this, Okabe Motonobu gritted his teeth and continued to crawl forward. He didn't know how long he had been climbing when he suddenly smelled the smell of green grass and faintly caught the flow of air. Okabe Motonobu suddenly became excited, and his limbs
He crawled forward on the ground, suddenly opened the turf covering the top, and poked his head out of the tunnel.
It is about two miles away from the beach, and about two miles away from the entrance to the castle town of Takatenjin Castle. Not far behind the entrance of this cave, there is a camp and sentry set up by the Tokugawa family. It must be a long way back.
If it doesn't work, you can only move forward.
Okabe Motonobu casually got some soil and stones, roughly blocked the entrance of the cave, then got up and ran towards the beach. Along the way, he also found many sporadic secret whistles. It seems that the Yuqiu family's Military Intelligence Department really did this this time.
They all came out to catch him.
But what should I do if I run to the beach? Isn’t it the same as being discovered by the Momiji Fleet? How should I escape back to Suruga? If I go to Oigawa, I will still be blocked by the Momiji Army. If I find a boat to row back from the sea, I will be blocked by the Momiji Fleet again.
.
Okabe Motonobu suddenly felt a sense of despair, but he did not stop. It was like a victim escaping from a tsunami with his back turned. Even though he was destined to die, he was still struggling to survive.
However, when he crossed a slope and saw the unobstructed view of the beach and the sea in the distance, he almost jumped up with joy - the Red Leaf Fleet that was originally anchored on the sea had disappeared?
"God help me." Okabe Gennobu couldn't care so much anymore and ran towards the seaside without saying a word, trying to find a small boat that he could row back to Suruga from the sea.
·
Okabe Gennobu didn't know that the reason why the Momiji Fleet left the waters south of Takaten Shrine was because the Hojo navy had already carried reinforcements around the southern end of the Izu Peninsula and sailed into Suruga Bay in the afternoon. The Hojo navy
As soon as it appeared, it was discovered by the scouts of the Momiji Fleet. In order to prevent the reinforcements of the Hojo family from landing in Suruga, and thus gain more time to conquer Takaten Shrine and Oyama Castle, the entire division of the Momiji Fleet had gone out to attack the Shimizu navy of the Hojo family.
.
The Hojo Navy tried to land at Ejiri Port, the port of the Takeda Navy, but the Momiji Fleet was already stuck on the Hojo Navy's way to Ejiri Port. Facing the terrifying combat power of the Momiji Fleet, the Hojo Navy simply could not
If they dared to fight forward, they had no choice but to land at Toi Port in Izu, put down the reinforcements hastily, and let them walk overland to Suruga on their own.
After forcing the Hojo navy to put down its ground forces, the Momiji fleet returned to the waters of the distant river the next evening. However, its brief departure happened to allow Okabe Gennobu to catch up and escape all the way back in a small boat.
To Suruga.
On the evening of February 3rd, Yu Qiuping received the report from Uchiha Aooka who had rushed back from Gaotian City, and he was shocked and said:
"What? It seems that someone took advantage of the chaos to escape last night?"
Yu Qiuping suddenly stood up from his seat and asked in disbelief, "Is it Okabe Motobu?"
"The identity is still uncertain. We traced the footprints, and we only know that the person first escaped from the city through the cesspool, then escaped from the castle town along the tunnel that had been dug long ago, and then took a small boat while the Red Leaf Fleet was leaving.
Escaped." Uchiha Aooka bowed his head in shame and said, "I am incompetent, please atone for your sins, Your Highness."
Chapter completed!