The people in Qingzhou City fell on their backs and became a mess.
Oda Nobunaga suddenly left the city and disappeared without a trace. He had just sent people back to ask everyone to meet at Atsuta Shrine.
Not to mention that the Imagawa family's spies had no time to deliver the news, even the Oda family's own ministers were caught off guard.
At Shibata Katsuie's residence, the officer sent out to inquire for information was reporting back to her.
"When His Highness Hengxing Ikeda left the city, he led the horseback crowd to follow him.
The two adults, Mori Katsunari and Kawajiri Hidetaka, went to assemble their troops outside the city and prepare to set off.
Niwa Nagahide-sama took over the city defense."
Shibata Katsuie nodded silently.
Since her allegiance, she has no prejudice against Oda Nobunaga.
After calming down to observe and pondering carefully, I discovered that the idiot Owari I looked down on before was really hidden deep inside.
Oda Nobunaga had a wild character and a man who was determined to retaliate against others, which often gave people the impression of being unreliable.
But on the contrary, she is actually an extremely ruthless and scheming character.
The rough temper may be due to nature, or it may be a disguise.
But as long as he encounters matters of interest, the Oda family governor will quickly calm down.
If she makes a mistake, she admits it, and if she admits it, she corrects it. As long as it's for profit, she doesn't care about face.
Put interests first in everything, do things with aggressiveness, desire to conquer, and never give up.
Many people believe that Oda Nobunaga behaved abnormally under the oppression of Imagawa's army and that he was at the end of his rope and gave up on himself.
But Katsuie Shibata kept watching Nobunaga's performance coldly.
To this day, Imagawa Yoshimoto entered the southeastern mountainous area, and Nobunaga left the city?
Is this insanity? This is seizing the opportunity and attacking the enemy unprepared.
The Imagawa family is powerful, how many people in Qingzhou City can be trusted? Instead of relying on these guys who are both snakes and rats, it is better to attack suddenly and make a surprise attack.
Niwa Nagahide stabilized the samurai families in Qingzhou City, and other direct ministers followed Nobunaga into the battle.
Although the number is small, the military spirit is available, so why not take a gamble!
Thinking of this, Shibata Katsuie burst into flames.
"Go out of the city and organize the army! I want to accompany the governor to fight Imagawa Yoshimoto!"
Shibata Katsuie decided to take a gamble with Oda Nobunaga.
She spent the first half of her life following her ancestor Oda Nobuhide, but achieved nothing.
Although he was grateful to his ancestors for the promotion, he suffered many setbacks and was restricted to the four counties of Shimo-Owari and was not allowed to develop his talents.
Is there really no complaint at all?
She remembered every word Oda Nobunaga said in persuading him to surrender, and the resentment that had accumulated in her heart for many years was clearly expressed in her mind.
Shibata Katsuie has entered middle age.
She did not want to be a outsider in the Imagawa family and spend the rest of her life as a lackey who could not even remember the name of the Imagawa family governor.
Then use the last passion in your heart to fight with Oda Nobunaga!
Atsuta Shrine.
Oda Nobunaga looked at the sky in the distance, which was gradually turning gray, and mentally calculated the time for the army to arrive.
Recently, she has been visiting Atsuta Shrine almost every day, just to ask the gatekeeper about the weather.
The gatekeeper is an old woman, I don't know how old she is.
When he was young, he had been eating and waiting to die at Atsuta Shrine, relying on his ability to predict the weather.
Atsuta Shrine was originally a Shinto property.
Since the third generation of Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu destroyed the imperial court and killed Shintoism, the shrine has been in decline.
With its large collection of books, it became a place for reading books among the Owari samurai family.
The shrine relies on books for a living, and books are most afraid of water.
Therefore, a janitor is needed to predict rain, snow, and divine winds so that the books can be collected and stored properly.
The old woman is a mature woman and has no other skills. Her legs will hurt every time there is wind or rain.
Especially before the divine wind comes, the heart-piercing feeling is the most accurate.
Oda Nobunaga was looking forward to a divine wind. Because when the divine wind comes, it will be a violent storm!
Now that the kamikaze is coming, Imagawa Yoshimoto has also entered the southeastern mountainous area. It is a God-sent opportunity!
She was so excited that her hands were shaking and her body was shaking. She just waited for the follow-up ministers to arrive before heading into the mountainous area.
I just don’t know if Shibata Katsuie will come.
Shibata Katsuie has three of Shimowari's most elite reserve troops. During the last civil war at home, she did not deprive Shibata of the command of the reserve troops.
The first is to stabilize the hearts of the retainers, so as not to affect Kamiowari's plan for the Northern Expedition.
The second is to cherish talents. Shibata Katsuie is brave and wise, and is a rare general.
It would be best if I could gain her loyalty.
So she has been treating Shibata Katsuie favorably just to see the results.
If Shibata Katsuie fails to live up to her expectations, then after the war...
Oda Nobunaga's eyes flashed coldly. The military power of the Oda family must be firmly in his own hands.
If you can't be trusted, die.
Imagawa Yoshimoto climbed to the top of the mountain and looked around. Instead of feeling relieved, he became even more uneasy.
This area is full of hills, with ups and downs all over the mountains and fields.
Although I climbed up and looked into the distance, I could only see the empty top of the mountain.
What is hidden behind the mountains? What is in the forests between the mountains?
It seems like there are invisible enemies everywhere.
Imagawa Yoshimoto thought for a moment and gave the order.
"Arrange defenses toward the north!"
She still chose to defend the north.
Although she only has three hundred flags with her, she is an elite member of the army.
The military situation at the foot of the mountain is fragmented, communications are poor, and manpower is densely packed.
The most important thing is that there is a steady stream of Imagawa troops behind them.
The longer the time went on, the more at ease she felt.
The Yahagi River connects the Mikawa Okazaki Plain and the Owari Noo Plain, and is the best route to enter Owari.
Following the tributary of the Yahagi River, it splits into two large streams in the Okehazama Mountain area.
One branch is the Odaka River. Go west to Ise Bay. When you arrive at Ise Bay, to the south is Odaka Castle controlled by Mikawa.
To the north is Owari's Marune Castle, which was captured by Matsudaira Motoyasu.
Further north is Narumi Castle, which surrendered anyway.
This road is the line from Mikawa to Owari Ise Bay, which has been completely controlled by the Imagawa family.
It's just that the road is far away and not suitable for large armies.
Therefore, Imagawa Yoshimoto chose to enter the Okezama Mountains with his army and continue to advance.
Follow the other hand across the river. Heading north, you encounter a bifurcation ahead and split into two branches again.
The protruding part of the bifurcation is Zenshoji Village where Oda Nobunaga asked Sasa Hayato and Chiaki Siniang to take away three hundred troops.
This road is a mountainous route from Mikawa to Owari. There are many mountain tops and tributaries running wildly. The generals are divided into small groups, and the head and tail cannot look at each other.
But once you break through the mountainous area, you will directly enter the Nongwei Plain. It is a flat plain, which is convenient for the army to march.
Imagawa Yoshimoto is now waiting on the top of the mountain, waiting for the army to pass by one after another. He is vigilant in defense and has a calm strategy.
I don’t know when it started, but the sky gradually changed and the wind and rain gradually became heavier.
Sasa Hayabusa and Chiaki Siniang are both natives of Owari and are familiar with mountain trails.
They marched along the mountains with a force of 300 troops. As soon as they arrived at the Owari Barrage, they saw the Imagawa Yoshimoto Honjin horse seal on the top of the mountain.
The two men looked at each other and smiled, looking forward to death, and led the army to launch a desperate attack.
Imagawa Yoshimoto had already prepared, and indeed the enemy came out from the north.
She smiled proudly to her left and right.
"I knew they were lurking in the north, waiting for me to step in."
"Your Highness is wise!"
Three hundred troops attacked from bottom to top. They did not even come into contact with Imagawa Yoshimoto's main formation. They were blocked by multiple reserve teams at the foot of the mountain and the mountainside. All of them died on the way to the assault.
Imagawa Yoshimoto finally breathed a sigh of relief when he received the news.
The ambush of the Oda family has been eliminated, and the troops are ordered to set off as soon as possible without waiting for her.
She looked at the increasing wind and rain outside, hummed a tune from her hometown, and decided to wait until the rain passed and the sky cleared before leaving.
Everything is under control, there is nothing to be afraid of.