Four hundred and seventieth IX Battle of the Cheap Mountains
Oda Nobutaka of Gifu Castle was horrified when he heard the news. He knew that with his own little strength, it was absolutely impossible to compete with Hideyoshi, but he still placed his hope in Shibata Katsuie's reinforcements.
The solid defense of Gifu City left by his father back then gave him great help. Although Kinoshita Tokichiro had a huge advantage in military strength, he was still unable to break through the thick wall of Gifu City for a while.
"What's the situation at the front?" Kinoshita Tokichiro did not personally participate in the siege, and handed over the task of siege to his favorite general Kuroda Kanbei.
"Your Highness! The city defense is too strong, and Lord Kuroda can never break through!" said the ninja who reported the news.
Tokichiro showed no expression at all. Although he was very irritable, he knew that at this time he was no longer just a general of the Oda family. He had to play a brand new role, that of an independent daimyo.
So he tried his best to control his emotions and began to analyze it in detail.
Gifu City is no stranger to him. When he was an Oda retainer, he stayed here for a long time. This place is simply a second home for him.
It was precisely because he knew Gifu City too well that he realized that this city could not be conquered simply by relying on military strength, so he first assigned his general Kuroda Kanbei to attack the opponent and wear down the opponent's spirit, while he wanted to follow suit.
Go around the back of Gifu City and make a surprise attack.
Seeing that Kuroda Kanbei had completely attracted Oda Nobutaka's attention, he led his main army of 13,000 people to quietly go around the rear of Gifu City through the forest trails.
But something unexpected happened. As soon as his troops detoured from the forest path, they were attacked by an army!
I saw that the army was all wearing dark brown military uniforms, and they seemed to be well prepared! They had already deployed a large number of crossbowmen and iron gunners outside the forest road. Before Hideyoshi's troops could walk out of the woods, they were fired upon.
The rain made it difficult to raise one's head, and iron cannons and rockets set fire to the woods, killing and burning many soldiers, but Kinoshita Tokichiro still resolutely ordered the soldiers to rush forward as hard as they could!
Under the assault of the large number of Kinoshita troops, the ambush army gradually lost its strength and began to retreat into Gifu City.
"It's that guy Takigawa Ichimasu!" Hideyoshi said through gritted teeth: "Didn't he claim to be neutral to the outside world? He went to war without declaring it!"
"Chase me!" The furious Hideyoshi was a little excited at this time. Under his order, the soldiers chased and beat Takigawa Kazumasushi's army! The large number of Kinoshita troops chased Takigawa Kazumasushi's troops. Unknowingly,
Juejian was led to the foot of Qifu City. As soon as he approached the city, he saw thousands of arrows fired from the city wall!
Kinoshita's army was caught off guard and was shot down in large numbers, so they had to retreat again.
Fujiyoshiro was furious and had no choice but to adopt siege tactics and cut off all water and grain routes in Gifu City!
But Shibata Katsuie's reinforcements finally came. After the blizzard stopped, Shibata Katsuie took his main force of about 10,000 people to Gifu City regardless of the danger.
At this time, the defenders in the city also rushed out together with Shibata Katsuie's army! Seeing that he could not gain any advantage, Tokichiro took the initiative to retreat.
He understands that the purpose of fighting is to win, not to have a good time.
At the same time, Du Fei of Shikoku was testing each other with the Changsonggabe family who was ready to make a move.
A relatively big change occurred in the Chosogabe family at this time, that is, the weakening of the power of the family governor Chosogabu Motochin, and correspondingly, the power of the Yoshida family, the Kubu family, and the Shiwa family rapidly expanded!
These retainers, who were supposed to serve the daimyo, relied on their father's military exploits and family power, and began to eat away at the governance foundation of the Chosou family little by little.
Du Fei originally thought that the small Changsong family only occupied the land of Maru and would never dare to provoke him.
However, it was only now that he realized that he was completely wrong. The complexity and particularity of the members of the Chosonggabu family's retainers group far exceeded his imagination.
Needless to say, the Yoshida family, two of the powerful generals of the Chosogabe family are from the Yoshida family. Although they were born in poverty, they slowly began to have their own say thanks to the power and military exploits of their own clan.
.If the opinions they put forward are ignored by the Prime Minister of our Ministry, it is very likely that many military generals will claim illness and ignore military affairs.
It's okay for them, because the harm caused is at most the delay and laxity in military affairs. However, if wealthy families like the Shiwa family and the Kubu family have a disagreement, they may start a fight with the Chosouga tribe and leave in a hurry.
!This is not impossible.
Their families all have independent territories and fortresses within the territory of the Chozong Division. Once the two sides break up, the four countries will immediately have one more daimyo competing for the world.
The reason why they relied on the Changzonggabu family was just to use the power and military power of the Changzonggabu family to avoid wasting manpower and material resources on territorial defense.
Chosonggabu Motochin also had a headache for these rich people. Fortunately, their purpose had always been simple. They just wanted to enjoy the shade under the big tree of Chosonggabu. At the same time, they were unwilling to abide by the rules.
Appear.
Kutake joined the Chosogabe family relatively late. He had been running the family business in the family before. Later, he had a conflict with the Kono family due to interests, and then joined the Chosogabe family in order to avoid the other party's revenge.
Home.
Even the head of the clan, Yuanqin, didn’t know how much trouble this new retainer he had recruited would bring to him.
Kutake Chinao soon discovered that he couldn't get enough of it here.
Some of the people here are hereditary nobles, some are generals who are proficient in fighting, and some are famous ministers who are good at governing, but I am not good at these at all!
But he gradually began to show off his specialty - sowing discord! Under his instigation, the originally amiable retainer group of the Changzong family soon became a mess, and the intrigues between retainers turned into a vicious circle.
Several small gangs fight endlessly day and night.
In this environment, Kutake Chinao began to feel at home like a fish in water. He dealt with the leaders of various factions duplicitously and gradually established his own prestige.
Soon, Chosong Gabu Motochin realized that what he said might not be as effective as what Kutake said directly! But he discovered it too late.
At this time, except for the Yoshida family who had seen through Kutake Chinao's tactics early on and treated him indifferently, almost all the other retainers secretly supported the new Kutake Chikinao.
Kutake felt that he had completely controlled the Chosogabe family, and he couldn't help but feel a little arrogant. He forgot that the daimyo sitting on the chair was still Chosogabe Motochinchi, and even began to act on behalf of Motochin, and even punished the retainers privately.
, eradicate dissidents.
Chosong Gabu Yuanqin wanted to eradicate him for a long time, but due to the pressure of all the retainers and concerns about the stability of his rule, he never took action. However, Kumu Qinzhi was much more decisive than him. He didn't worry about so many causes and consequences, and just killed him.
He was poisoned!
After Chosogabe Yuanqin was poisoned, he could not hear in his ears, lost sight in both eyes, and lay on the hospital bed as if he was a disabled person. At this time, the Chosogabu family was actually equivalent to changing hands.
Under this situation, Hisabake Ochanao, who was in sole control of power, began to exclude the Yoshida family and the Shiwa family who disobeyed him. Shiwa Kansuke was accused of attempting to commit rebellion. The Yoshida family was very cautious and held military power.
Takeuchikanao did not dare to take action directly, but he took a step-by-step approach and began to use various pretexts to reduce the number of troops controlled by the Yoshida family.
With no military knowledge at all, he actually came up with a terrible idea, which was to send troops belonging to the Yoshida family to attack Du Fei, the overlord of the four countries!
He wanted to use this method to kill people with a borrowed knife, and let the powerful Du Fei wipe out the Yoshida family in one fell swoop. From then on, he could monopolize the power, and even directly peel off the outer shell of the Chosong Division and hang the flag of the Jiubu family!
The most authoritative elder of the Yoshida family, Yoshida Takayori, saw through Kutake's trick. Although he had received military orders to attack Du Fei's territory, he kept delaying the march date and kept asking for military supplies from Kutake.
Kutake Okinao had no choice but to provide them with everything they needed. He only hoped that these difficult guys could go to the front line and die as soon as possible.
Little did he know that the clever Yoshida family had taken this as an opportunity to make a secret agreement with Du Fei.
Kutake Chinao finally waited until the Yoshida family sent out troops. He received an invitation letter from Yoshida Takayori, saying that the troops requested to be inspected by him before the expedition.
This moment greatly satisfied Kutake's vanity. Without hesitation, he led a convoy of hundreds of people to the Yoshida Army Camp.
When he got there, he saw that the soldiers were all ready to go and looked smug. He couldn't help but secretly rejoiced: I'll leave you alone and I'll tell you the truth here!
So he came to the high platform in a high-spirited manner and began to speak at length and make impassioned speeches to the soldiers of the Yoshida family.
The strange thing is that all the Yoshida troops below can't help laughing. Many people are covering their mouths and snickering. They are gradually gathering around, surrounding all the people brought by Kutake Chinao.
When Kutake saw this, he immediately smelled murderous intent. He suddenly jumped off the high platform! He shouted: "Let's go!"
At this time, all the Yoshida troops were seen surrounding him! Although Kutake Chinao's guards tried their best to resist, they were all disarmed and tied up!
"You are rebelling! You are committing crimes!" Kutake shouted angrily!
"Are we rebelling?" I saw Takayori Yoshida and Du Fei's general Nobubu Ohura, who had never shown up, walking out side by side: "Who is rebelling? Whose retainers are we?"
Yoshida Takayori suddenly became furious: "If it weren't for you! Would our Chosougabu family be like this? Rebellion? How dare you say that others are rebelling?"
As he said that, he suddenly strode forward and started punching and kicking Kutake Kaminao! He was not alone. His younger brother Yoshida Shigetoshi and his son Yoshida Sadashige saw him taking action and immediately joined the beating.
ranks.
Jiuwu was so beaten that his lips and teeth fell apart! He even shamelessly begged Oura for mercy: "Please beg me for mercy! I can work for His Highness Du Fei!"
"Haha, stop it first." Oura Nobu's voice was not high-pitched, but it was very powerful. Everyone in the Yoshida family spat at Kutake and stopped.
I saw Du Fei slowly walking out of the commander's camp, wearing gorgeous black soft armor inlaid with gold and a white cloak.
He glanced at Kutake Kaminao indifferently, and said casually: "What use do I have for such a waste!" Then he made a 'killing' motion with one hand!
The Yoshida family generals on both sides were immediately overjoyed and hurriedly dragged Kutake, who was so frightened that his urine flowed all over his crotch, down.
"Your Highness! Can we attack now?" Oura Nobu was already a little eager to give it a try. Since joining the Du Fei retainers, he had never had the opportunity to capture an enemy city alone. He couldn't wait any longer.
"It's not necessary. Give Okafyo Castle an ultimatum immediately. As long as we open the city and surrender before noon, the safety of the soldiers can be guaranteed. If we are still stubborn after noon, don't blame us for not maintaining the alliance we once had!"
After receiving Du Fei's ultimatum, Oka Toyo Castle immediately fell into a quarrel! The retainers began to accuse each other! The Shiwa family, the second largest local tycoon, immediately tried to replace the Kutake family and continue to control the Chosougabe family, but other retainers also
Everyone had their own agendas, and some retainers with military power began to dream of usurping the throne.
Just when they were entangled, a person who had been forgotten by them - Nobuchika Nagasogabe, the son of Nagasogabe Motochika, secretly contacted the retainers loyal to Nagasogabe Fukudome Yishige and Kagawa Chi
He and others quietly opened the gate of Okafyo Castle and let in Du Fei and the Yoshida family's army.
Suddenly everyone in the city was stunned, and no one had any reason to resist.
Du Fei was surprised and at the same time admired the behavior of Nobuchika Chosoga. He rewarded the Yoshida clan heavily and incorporated them into his own army.
Later, he held a banquet to entertain the novice relatives of Changzong, who surrendered in Kaicheng. Du Fei could not stop looking at the depressed young man during the banquet, and he asked considerately: "How is your father doing?"
"Your Highness, Xie, still misses my father the same way. The doctor said that he can only do this for the rest of his life." Nobuhimika, the chief minister of the family, lowered his head. The sumptuous meal in front of him was almost untouched, but the wine had been drained.
Du Fei sighed heavily. He remembered the first time he met Chang Zonggabu Yuanqin. What a majestic man he was! He didn't expect that he would be harmed like this by such a small character!
"My nephew, I have helped you quell the civil strife in Gangfeng City. I will leave some soldiers to help you defend. Next, you must concentrate on governance and don't let your father and me down!" As soon as Du Fei said this,
Everyone was shocked!
Those retainers of the Changzonggabu who had ulterior motives suddenly became frightened: We all betrayed him, wouldn’t it be wrong if the Changzonggabu family is back in power now?
"Your Highness!" The dejected Nobutikami of Chosonggabu never expected that Du Fei would return the city and territory to him so readily. He suddenly felt that something was blocking his chest, making him want to speak but
But nothing could be said.
By this time, the sky had darkened. The guard lit the lamp, and the room suddenly became brightly lit.
In the reflection of the lights, all the retainers present here have different expressions. Some are happy, some are grateful, some are anxious, and some are pretending to be calm.