Chapter 1,302 The first confrontation with Kazuto, tip of the spear against the tip of the spear!
July in Ezo is warm and bright, almost the best time of the year, with greenery and hope of vitality everywhere.
In the southernmost Kazuto land, the winding canals slowly lead to the cold mountain streams. After being warmed by the sun, they irrigate into the rice fields that pop up. Rice is the staple food of Kazuto and also the main food of Kazuto.
The most cherished "rice god". Under the careful care of Kazuto farmers, these rice fields, which have been painstakingly developed in the warm and narrow land of the southernmost island, are the most cherished hope of all Kazuto people. As long as they are not destroyed before the autumn harvest,
Affected by the cold current going south, it can reach an "astonishing" yield of 1,350 kilograms per mu, almost three times that of a millet field!
"Blessings from Bodhisattva! This year must be warmer and rainier... If one acre of land can harvest one hundred and fifty kilograms, and one person can eat it, it will be a real good year! We will definitely offer incense and tribute to you..."
Yes, the yield of 1,350 kilograms per mu is the harvest of the rice fields along the north and south coasts of the Tsugaru Strait. In Ou, which becomes increasingly barren the further north it goes, this is already an excellent number! Even if it is the Omi fertile land along Lake Biwa, or
In the Owari fertile land occupied by the Oda family, the annual yield of rice per mu at this time was only more than 200 kilograms. However, the most cultivated grain in the entire country was millet, which was widely planted and yielded low yields, with an average yield of fifty to sixty kilograms per mu.
millet.
At present, in the southernmost part of the Ezo land, around Kazuto villages and Tateya houses, there are not many paddy fields, and most of them are dry millet fields. In this barren northern country, the yield of millet is very low, and only one acre can be planted.
Harvesting three times and four times, the maximum is less than 50 kilograms. And this has to be provided by God. There is no climate that is too cold, resulting in reduced production or no harvest...
Therefore, in the eyes of the powerful daimyo of Ou, the Ezo land is really synonymous with poverty and barbarism! There are still rebellions by the Ezo people from time to time. After being suppressed, there is no oil left, and it is not even enough for the samurai to trek on expeditions. No matter what
Neither the Nanbu clan nor the Andō clan had much interest in the territory here, so they allowed the local Uyizaki clan to annex and control the Twelve Halls.
"The poor Ezo land, the even poorer Ezo people... That place is so cold and poor that they can't even grow rice and corn! The Ezo people even eat weeds and unpalatable tares!..."
Continuing from the Twelve Halls in Kazuto Land to the north, passing "Mount Fuji" in Ezo Land, and crossing the Shiribetsu River running from east to west, this is the boundary of the Ainu tribes.
The climate here is colder, winter comes earlier, and the rice harvest is very easy to fail. The yield of corn is often reduced to two after planting. When encountering pests and birds, it is often impossible to recover the loss. Before the introduction of cold-resistant crops in the New World
, pure farming life can no longer support the tribes here. Therefore, all the Ezo tribes, while hunting and fishing, sow some cold-resistant collected plants, mainly "wild millet" and "barrel".
Among them, "weeds", which are resistant to cold, floods and have a short growth period, are the most important "staple food crops" in various ministries. This semi-domesticated wild crop is much more tenacious than fully domesticated grains. Of course
, its yield is also terrifyingly low. It can yield more than 20 kilograms per acre, all thanks to the protection of the patron saint!
"Tare, Xifubaile! It is the favorite tribute of the shamans and a gift from the forest and swamp to the Jurchen tribes! Without it, there would be no thousands of Jurchen tribes..."
At this moment, in the west of the same latitude, in the vast outer northeast, those numerous savage Jurchen tribes are also planting tares! In this era, the Jurchen land in the outer northeast is cold and humid, with frequent floods, and is almost covered with endless
The swamps and forests. The only crop that the Jurchen tribes can cultivate is "tares", so they can barely maintain a semi-nomadic and semi-agricultural life.
And when the climate becomes colder and colder, the Little Ice Age really arrives, and even the weeds can no longer survive, that is, it is time for the Jurchen tribes in the entire outer northeast to go south! Starting from the end of the fifteenth century, a wave of
The Jurchen savages who waved from the bitter cold began to migrate southward, causing constant fighting and mergers among the Jurchen tribes. The loose Jurchen tribes gradually integrated, and the tribes gathered more and more, became stronger and hungrier...
Eventually, these initial ripples will gather into an extremely powerful shock wave, surging southward, shaking the warm Ming Dynasty and North Korea further south! At this time, no one knows whether this original destiny of the times will be changed.
Change? In the future of brutal fighting, will there be a new and viable direction to divert these Jurchen tribes who are struggling to survive?…
"Young Master Yoshihiro, this is the 'field' of the Ezo people, the field where 'weeds' are planted! And when these fields appear in large numbers, it proves that a large Ainu tribe is already close at hand.
!…”
"Ah! The onions and salmon of the Ezo people are both mouth-watering delicacies. But this weed field full of barnyard grass is really speechless! ... If the samurai were allowed to guard this place, they would eat it every day.
If the tares are food for you, even the most loyal retainers will probably flee southward!..."
"Yes! Young Master Yoshihiro. If you want to occupy the territories of the Ezo people in the north, you must have enough surplus food, which can be continuously transported from the Twelve Halls in the south. And to maintain this kind of occupation, you have to face the north
The resistance of the Ezo tribes and the guerrilla attacks of their tribes will inevitably lead to huge losses... Therefore, this place is only suitable for collecting tribute on a regular basis, but if we really want to occupy it, the price we, the Oyezaki clan, cannot afford!..."
Uyizaki Yoshihiro was wearing a tamaru, riding a tall Jurchen horse, looking forward majestically. Veteran Kudo Shigeyasu was riding a short Deba horse, carrying an eye-catching flag, following beside him. And behind the two coaches
Surrounding them were two hundred Uyzaki samurai in a marching column. Most of them carried two long spears, the poor carried ribs around their waists, and a few wealthy ones wore close-combat swords.
As for the ten precious cavalry, they all led their short war horses and walked behind the two commanders. Each of them only had one horse, and the horse's physical strength was very precious. If you ride for an extra quarter of an hour now, you will have to feed two more at night.
A quarter of an hour's supply of fodder even consumes hard-to-transport beans, which is tiring and uneconomical. Therefore, when marching on weekdays, the cavalry still mainly walks.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Further out, there are a group of dozens of people, three hundred loose Ishikari tribe warriors, who serve as the eyes of the army, as well as skirmishers entangled with the enemy. At the rear, there are
For food, there are one hundred Uchiura tribesmen who are responsible for logistics. Regardless of the Ishikari tribe or the Uchiura tribe, most of these Ainu tribes have no armor, and a few have simple leather armor. The weapons in their hands are also stone spears, stone hammers, and stone axes.
Mostly, there are less iron spears and iron axes.
Of course, although the soldiers of the Ishikari tribe have poor equipment, their morale is very high. They have been hunting in the Beiyu clan's hunting grounds for more than a month, and have hunted almost all the deer and rabbits. Similarly, they also
They plundered many small and loose tribes in Beiyu, and even captured some women who could not escape in time, and brought them back to the tribe for marriage. Therefore, even if the army just withdraws and everyone returns to their respective tribes, it will be a fruitful and worthwhile trip.
Got it!
"Young Master Yoshihiro, it is very bitter and cold to the north of Mount Fuji in Ezo. The four territories of Ezo in the north are all difficult for our family to occupy. But there is real potential to develop rice fields, which can be directly controlled by our family and increase our stone height.
Yes, there is only the Uchiura clan south of Mount Fuji in Ezo, which is also the focus of our strategy! ...As for the four northern tribes of Hoyu, Ishikari, Nishihara, and Higashihara, the head of the family has told me many times to let the Ezo clan fight against each other.
Fighting and fighting...But we must not let them decide the winner, let the Ezo people integrate together, and a leading dog king will appear!..."
"Huh? Mr. Kudo, what do you mean? Beware of the Ishikari tribe getting bigger?..."
Veteran Kudo Shigeyasu looked at the cheerful Ishikari tribe warriors around him with a gloomy expression, like a seasoned hunter looking at the hunting dogs being driven, no, the wolves being driven. There was only three points of indifference in his eyes, but a full seven points.
His distrust has been buried deep in his heart since he boarded Ezochi and has been buried until now.
"Yes! Young Master Yoshihiro. We can't occupy the territory of the Hoyu clan, but the Ishikari clan can. They have eaten half of the Hoyu clan and almost pushed them into the sea. They are already very powerful.
The strength ranks first among the four tribes. There are iron mines and coal for heating in their territory, which makes the family head very afraid!... During this expedition, they even wanted to ask for iron smelting and blacksmithing craftsmen from their own family, but they were all rejected.
The head of the family refused directly!…”
"Young Master, after you inherit the position of the head of the family, please be careful of the Ishikari clan! The best result is that this family can subdue the Beiyu clan and accept it as a vassal like the Uchiura clan. Then, with two
Support the Ezo clan to suppress and balance the Ishikari clan... No matter what, there must not be an overly powerful Ainu clan appearing in this Ezo land that our family plans! No matter whether they are allies with us or not, no matter whether they seem to be
Friendship...But in the final analysis, they are not of the same race as us and humans, which is absolutely unbelievable in the end!..."
The words of the veteran Kudo Shigeyasu expressed the sentiments of all the Kazuto warriors in Ezo. They regard Ezo as the clan’s foundation and the Ainu as a conquered alien race. They have no relationship with the Ainu.
The Inu people's idea of fusion and all superficial alliances are for long-term interests, for complete annexation and occupation.
It is precisely for this reason that the alliance between the Ishikari clan and the Uyizaki clan seems to be a strong alliance, but in fact it looks like they are inseparable. Sooner or later, they will become strangers. The chiefs of the Ishikari clan have tried many times to marry the direct descendants of the Uyizaki clan, but they have all been rejected.
Takeda Nobhiro refused without a doubt. His heirs had already made arrangements to marry into the important Kazuto family. These marriage relationships can stabilize retainers internally and draw in strong support externally. As for the Ezo tribe
Marriage with a woman? What a joke, not even the chief’s daughter!…
"Yes! Mr. Kudo, what you said makes sense!..."
Yoshihiro Uyizaki pondered for a moment and nodded on horseback. Not far away, the shadowy villages of Beiyu Hanhama Department appeared together with the northern coast. When the "army" of six hundred people approached, the mournful Conch Horn
The constant sounding is a warning signal from the Ainu people.
"Beep! Beep!...The brutal Kazuto army appears from the south!..."
"Quick! Mobilize the men of each village and notify the three chiefs!..."
"The three chiefs have spoken! The chiefs have orders!... All the archers and men climbed to the heights of the village! And all the Hanbin warriors, Hanmarsh warriors, and the armored Qiandao warriors were leaning on
They lined up against the village fence and formed a formation at the entrance of the village!…”
"Blessed by the divine power of the guardian! We have a thousand warriors. This is unprecedentedly powerful force. It is the guardian force sent by the gods! We will definitely defeat the armies of Kazuto and the Ishikari tribe and drive them out of the hunting grounds inherited by our ancestors! ...
"
The mobilization of the Beiyu clan was chaotic and noisy, and the expressions of hundreds of tribal warriors also showed some fear hidden in their anger. Zuwaro looked around at these Beiyu clan allies with dubious combat power and average morale, and secretly shook his head.
Then, he raised the banner of the main god and shouted passionately to the more than a hundred warriors from the Kingdom and Deer tribe under his command.
"The bloody eyes of the Lord God are watching us! He is already extremely hungry, waiting for blood and sacrifices! ... He protects us, from the east thousands of miles away, to this continent of the West Sea. And under His protection, we have never been able to fight.
If you don’t win, you will definitely defeat the enemy!…”
"With the blessing of the Lord God, the divine power of the ocean and thunder has descended from the sky! The thunder weapon He bestowed upon us is with us!... All the warriors of the Lord God! Go out and line up, set up your spears, and prepare to face the enemy!..."
Loud cheers rang out from the villages of the Hanhama tribe, and a forest of golden spears also poured out from the entrance of the village. Then, under the stunned gaze of the Kazuto warriors, and the uneasy retreat of the Ishikari clan
, a group of tall and fierce armored warriors, just a few hundred meters away, faced them in formation, spear point to spear point!
