On April 24, the ninth year of Tensho (1581), Ryuzoji Takanobu led 10,000 Hizen soldiers to the coalition camp in Dobiliang. Yu Qiuping personally held a banquet in the camp to welcome him. To Yu Qiuping's surprise, Ryuzoji
Long Xin and his party did not remove their armor, but came directly to the main tent fully armed, which embarrassed Yu Qiuping and others who had already changed into regular clothes.
"His Majesty Jibu, long time no see." Headed by Ryuzoji Takanobu, he was dressed in a brown bear-style outfit. Coupled with his fat and strong figure, he really looked like a "Hizen-no-Bear."
"His Royal Highness Longzaoji," Yu Qiuping also bowed to Longxin Longxin and joked with a smile, "We haven't seen each other for only two years, so why don't we talk about 'long time no see'."
"His Majesty's words are wrong." Ryuzoji Takanobu was quite dissatisfied with Yu Qiuping's statement. Yu Qiuping's words to adjust the atmosphere only made the atmosphere more tense. Ryuzoji Takanobu had the unique arrogance of Kyushu people.
He said in a tone of voice, "In troubled times, with no eyesight, even the hegemon of the world may die in a surprise attack. No one knows whether he will be able to see the sun tomorrow. Even one day is so precious.
, so two years have passed, and you and I can still see each other, isn’t it ‘long time no see’?”
"What His Highness Ryuzoji said is true, but I was negligent, so I will also add, 'Long time no see.'" Yu Qiuping obviously did not expect that Ryuzoji Takanobu's temper would be so stubborn, and he would not even say a word to liven up the atmosphere.
Everyone objected, so I had to laugh and take advantage of the donkey path down the slope.
"His Royal Highness Jibu is really negligent, but he is living too comfortably." Ryuzoji Takanobu squinted his eyes and looked at the Yuqiu family warriors in the tent who were all wearing jinhaori without armor. "This is how to be a world leader."
Do the overlord Oda family samurai have such comfort? There is no armor in the battle formation, what should I do if I encounter a surprise attack?"
"How could such a thing happen? Everyone is on full alert." Yu Qiuping smiled again and tried to change the subject, but Ryūzoji Takanobu persisted and asked: "Then, if I, Ryūzoji
Now Teratakanobu and the Four Heavenly Kings under me suddenly encounter you in the tent. How can you resist without armor and a sword? Are you going to be slaughtered? I have a history of repaying kindness with enmity."
"His Royal Highness Longzao Temple is joking." Yu Qiuping's eyelids twitched, but his tone remained lukewarm. He picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea, "Our two families share the same hatred, how could His Highness Longzao Temple do this?
Is this coming?"
"His Royal Highness Jibu is really too careless. Has he forgotten the lesson learned by another His Highness Jibu?" Ryuzouji Takanobu continued to pursue in that harsh tone, "In the battle of Okezama, the world was
Isn’t it true that the powerful Imagawa Osamu was ruined because of his carelessness?”
Ryuzoji Takanobu didn't know that the generous Yu Qiuping really didn't care too much about other people's verbal offenses - provided that his absolute taboo minefields were not touched.
"I'm talking about you..." Yu Qiuping slowly put the teacup on the table, but the violent collision sound made when the teacup finally touched the table was not at all like the slow hand-lowering movement just now.
He used all his strength for the last time. Yu Qiuping raised his head again, his eyes were already sharp, and an angry murderous aura suddenly burst out, making Ryuzoji Takanobu tremble.
"Enough is enough." Yuqiu said this calmly, and then the curtain at the tent door was opened. Honda Tadakatsu, who was also wearing regular clothes, only carried a light samurai sword around his waist, as if nothing had happened.
——In other words, he walked straight into the tent arrogantly and stood behind Yu Qiuping. The tent, which was originally agitated because of Ryuzoji Takanobu's out-of-bounds words, instantly became quiet as if a basin of cold water had been poured on it.
"With Heihachirou here, do I need to worry about someone revolting?" Yu Qiuping glanced at Ryuzoji Takanobu and the five fully armed warriors behind him, "So what if he doesn't wear armor?"
Ryuzoji Takanobu laughed twice without saying anything.
"You should have a certain temper when joking. Your Highness, Longzao Temple, is better off with some restraint. Don't mention things that shouldn't be mentioned." Yu Qiuping took a deep breath, and then returned to his usual easy-going aura.
"Then I'll make amends to His Highness Zhibu." Ryuzoji Takanobu bowed his hand towards Yu Qiuping, which was a huge concession for him who was always competitive and wanted to save face. Yu Qiuping saw this and did not continue to pursue it.
, but became curious about another thing.
·
"His Royal Highness Ryuzouji just said, you and the Four Heavenly Kings of Ryuzouji under your command?" Yu Qiuping glanced at the five warriors behind Longxin of Ryuzouji again with some confusion, "Then there is another one..."
"We are all the Four Heavenly Kings of Ryuzoji Temple." The five people behind Ryuzoji Takanobu responded in unison, and then each reported their name:
"My Majesty, Nobukatsu Narumatsu, I have met His Highness Jibu."
"I, Bai Wuxianjie, have met His Highness Zhibu."
"I met His Highness Zhibu when I was in Xiajiangli, Xinchang."
"I met His Highness Jibu at Xia Yuancheng Temple, Xinyin."
"I met His Highness Zhibu when I was in Xiamenixia Changzhi."
"Um...Hello everyone." Yu Qiuping nodded awkwardly in return, and then hesitated for a while. Although he knew it might be rude, he still couldn't help asking, "What I want to ask is...who are the Four Heavenly Kings?"
"That's the five of them." Ryuzoji Takanobu replied matter-of-factly. The calm look in his eyes made Yu Qiuping instantly suspect that the one who couldn't count was him who had received nine years of compulsory education.
"One, two, three, four, five..." Yu Qiuping clasped the fingers of his hand under the table and counted it again in the most primitive way. After confirming that it was correct, he bravely said again, "But this
There are obviously five people."
"Yes, that's five people." Ryuzouji Takanobu nodded.
"Why are there five of the Four Heavenly Kings?" Yu Qiuping was completely confused and asked directly without regard for etiquette.
"Can't there be five of the Four Heavenly Kings?" Ryuzouji Takanobu replied in an even more surprised tone. His surprised attitude made Yu Qiuping once again doubt his mathematics - and Chinese.
"Don't the Four Heavenly Kings refer to the 'Four' Heavenly Kings?" Yu Qiuping's mouth twitched in embarrassment. He turned his head to look at his guards, trying to prove that it was the people of the Long Zaosi family who were crazy and not himself - but it failed.
His subordinates also looked at him with surprised eyes - as if the freak was really Yu Qiuping.
"No, no, I'm not the only one who thinks that the 'Four Heavenly Kings' should be four people, right?" Yu Qiuping confirmed again, but the eyes of everyone in the camp seemed to tell him: "Yes,
Yes, there is only you, you are unique, you are the focus of the world."
"Aren't there six of the Four Heavenly Kings of Oda?" Mori Ranmaru, who was standing next to Yu Qiupei, was blushing so much that he wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl in. It seemed that he didn't want to see Yu Qiupei make a fool of himself anymore, so he lowered his voice and reminded, "
Your Highnesses, His Highness Shibata, His Highness Hashiba, His Highness Akechi, His Highness Niwa, and His Highness Takigawa."
"Then why not call it 'Six Heavenly Kings'?" Yu Qiuping covered his face in despair and wailed, while Mori Ranmaru seemed to be too embarrassed by Yu Qiuping's public embarrassment and had lost the ability to talk.
"'The Four Heavenly Kings' sounds so nice..." Asahina Taihei muttered in the corner.
(Author's note: The above is purely a joke, because when the author first came into contact with Japan's Warring States Period, he was troubled for a long time about why there were five Four Heavenly Kings in Ryuzoji Temple. A common explanation is that Nobukatsu Narumatsu, a former member of the Four Heavenly Kings, was promoted after his meritorious service.
They no longer appear on the list of the Four Heavenly Kings, but were replaced by Kinoshita Masanao or Enjoji Nobuyin, so these five people are collectively called the "Four Heavenly Kings of Ryuzoji Temple".)
·
"Isn't Nabeshima-sama here?" Yu Qiupei glanced at the warriors behind Ryuzoji Takanobu and found that Nabeshima Naoshige, an important minister of the Ryuzoji family that he had seen during the secret treaty negotiation, was not there.
"There should always be a confidant in the family." Ryuzouji Takanobu replied without hesitation, "Especially for someone like me who has used dirty tricks to get where I am now. Even in my dreams, I am afraid that someone will rebel and kill me.
's head."
After a simple reception banquet, Yu Qiuping invited Ryuzoji Takanobu, Miyoshi Yoshihiro and Choso Gabu Motochin to come to the main tent and convene a pre-war military situation assessment meeting.
"At present, it seems that the Shimazu Army wants to stay on the Shimabara Peninsula for a long time and spend time with us here. They obviously believe that as long as they hold us back, the Otomo Army can create a new situation in Higo Country and Hyuga Country.
Advantage." Yu Qiuping explained his guesses and inferences to the three people, and then changed the topic: "But obviously they thought wrong, and time is not on their side."
"What do you mean by this?" As soon as Yu Qiuping finished speaking, Miyoshi Yixing couldn't help but ask.
"Because their default premise is that the only three reserves that I have on hand are the Hongye Army to support, so they think it is in their interest to delay. In their eyes, the remaining Awaji Navy, Mishima Navy and Hongye Fleet are
The destroyers are all here in the Ariake Sea. Our Yuqiu family can no longer spare any other troop transport ships, and it is impossible to create people in Kyushu." Yu Qiuping showed a confident smile, "But the actual situation is not like this.
, we have applied for support from Admiral Oda You. His Majesty Kuuki-sama's Kumano Navy has already assembled in Sakai Town, and the second batch of three reserve units of the Momiji Army will arrive in Kyushu soon. And tomorrow morning, the Momiji Fleet will
The destroyers will also leave the Ariake Sea at night, detour around the open sea and return to Kishiwada Port, and cooperate with the Kumano Navy to transport troops. By that time, both the Otomo Army and the Shimazu Army will be finished. If they spend their time here, it is exactly what I want.
"
"I see." Miyoshi Yoshihiro nodded in sudden realization, "His Majesty the Governor has learned from this."
"So we just need to secure our defense." Yu Qiuping patted the sand table of the Shimabara Peninsula drawn by the staff department with his hand and said, "Pull the front line out, lengthen it in depth, and try to drag it into a protracted war. Tomorrow morning,
The Miyoshi Army and the Chosoga Army set out south, with the Miyoshi Army in the west and the Chosoga Army in the east, setting up a barrier on the south side of Dobira. Our Hongye Army took up our main position, while the Ryuzoji Army invited us behind to hold down the formation at the end.
.With three lines of defense taking care of each other, there is no chance for the Shimazu army to surprise the entire army - even though they are far away in Fukasawa, it is impossible for them to quickly cross Okitabana and launch a surprise attack."
·
That night, the Shimazu family set up camp in Okita.
"So that's it. Yuqiu Hongye has a trump card, and he can also come to Kyushu with support. No wonder he is willing to stay here with us." Shimazu finished reading the secret letter sent by the Miyoshi family ninja and put it on the fire.
Go up and burn it, "Please report back to His Highness Sanhao. We will start planning in advance. Please be prepared."
After the Miyoshi family ninjas left the tent, the four Shimazu brothers inside the tent looked at each other and smiled.
"Come on, Amaki Harubu." Shimazu Yoshihiro made a fist with his right hand and hammered his chest boldly, "Let you die like your father-in-law Imagawa Harubu! Let me give you a Kyushu Okehama.
!”
·
At the same time, inside the Hongye Army’s camp.
"The news must have been passed on." Yu Qiuping asked in a low voice to Amano Jingde, who was standing side by side in the darkness.
"It will probably be the day after tomorrow." Amano Jingtoku glanced at the dark sky, the moon was hidden in the dark clouds, "The time is just right."
To be continued...