Takashima County, Haijin City.
Several warriors covered in blood entered the Kaijin Castle Palace with the help of the sidemen.
After hearing the news, Numata Mitsukane, the lord of Kaizu Castle who came from Yashiki, rushed to the palace without having time to put on his clothes. Looking at several unfamiliar samurai in the palace, Numata Mitsukane quickly asked: "Who are these?"
"Your Excellency, you are the Lord of Kaijin Castle, Numata Echuden, right?"
"I am Xinzhuang and Saburo, the sons of Xinzhuang Zangrentou, the head of the Xinzhuang family. Our family was suddenly attacked by the Takashima family of the same county, and the city was lost. My father also died in the battle!"
"Fortunately, Xiangshu fought his way out and came here specifically to ask for help from the Kyogoku family. I hope Yue Zhongshoudian will lend a helping hand to our family!"
After hearing what Shinjo Naomasa said, Numata Mitsukane said with a solemn expression: "How many troops have the Takashima family sent out, and what are the current trends?"
"The exact number of people is not known yet, but there are at least two to three thousand people!"
"After the Takashima family captured Xinzhuang Castle, they continued to march north. Now I'm afraid that the Ii castles have also been captured! The Ezhong shou can quickly send people to Imahama Castle to ask the Musashi shouden to send troops for support, otherwise I'm afraid the entire Takashima County will be captured. The Takashima family captured it!"
After Shinjo Naomasa finished speaking, Numata Mitsukane on the side also realized the seriousness of the matter.
The Takashima family suddenly dispatched such a large number of troops and captured the new Zhuang family's territory with lightning speed. Naturally, they would not give up easily. If they continued to march north, they could capture the unprepared cities such as Tianya and Kaijin.
Now the Kyogoku family has no extra troops in the territory of Takashima County, and judging from the current situation, it is too late to mobilize peasant soldiers, and there are only twenty or thirty samurai and dozens of ashigaru in Kaijin Castle. It is undoubtedly a fantasy to build up military strength to resist the Takashima family's attack.
"Report!"
"A large number of enemy troops were found outside Tianya Castle, and they were carrying the flag of the Takashima family!"
"The defenders of Tianya City are already in the cage city. Please make a decision quickly, my lord!" A messenger with a flag behind him ran into the palace in panic and shouted loudly.
Came so fast!
Numata Mitsukane couldn't sit still at this time, and immediately ordered, "Mobilize the troops in the city immediately and prepare to cage the city!"
"In addition, notify the people in all villages within the territory and let the people flee on their own!"
"Sir Shinjo, can you still move?" Numata Mitsukane looked at the slightly tired Shinjo Naomasa and asked.
Xinzhuang Naochang nodded firmly, "Please give me the instructions from Yuezhong Shoudian!"
"I still have to defend the city here. Master Lao Xinzhuang is making another trip to Bang City. There are fast horses in the stables outside the city for riding!"
Xinzhuang Zhichang nodded sharply and said: "Please take care of the Yuezhong Guards Palace, I will bring reinforcements as soon as possible!"
After Xinzhuang Naomasa left, Numata Hikari shook his body and said, "Come here, bring me my equipment!"
.
On the mountain road more than ten miles west of Tianwu City.
Kyogoku Takamasa and his party were hiding behind the rocks and watching the Takashima family's troops on the main road. Looking at the direction of the Takashima family's ashigaru, Kyogoku Takamasa's face looked a little ugly.
"Does the Takashima family want to invade our territory in one fell swoop?"
"Who gave Takashima Takachi the courage to provoke me?"
The Takashima family is just a member of the common people in Takashima County. In terms of strength, it is not even as high as 30,000 koku. The number of troops that can be mobilized will not exceed 3,000.
And the Kyogoku family now owns a territory of 200,000 koku in Kitaomi. Kyogoku Takamasa really didn't expect that Takashima Takamochi was so crazy that he came to cause trouble for the Kyogoku family!
"Lord, looking at this situation, the Takashima family seems to have turned out in full force. If the Takashima family dares to make such a desperate move, they must have something to rely on!" Lin Zhengxin whispered into Kyogoku Takamasa's ear.
Kyogoku Takamasa had a sullen face and was thinking in his mind.
"In addition to his Takashima family being the only one in Takashima County, there are Kuchiki and other people who can compete with him!"
"In the past, the Takashima family did not dare to send troops so brazenly. Why do they dare to send out troops in full force this time?"
"Aren't the Takashimas worried that the Kuchiki family will take the opportunity to send troops?" Kyogoku Takamasa felt as if he had caught something, but he couldn't tell.
When Hatayama Chao Xin heard this, he curled his lips and said casually: "Don't even think about it, there must be someone behind you!"
"There is someone behind the scenes..." Kyogoku Takamasa's eyes suddenly lit up. Hatayama Chonobu's words cleared the clouds for Kyogoku Takamasa. "Naizangsuke's words are not unreasonable. If my guess is correct, the Takashima family will send troops." The Rokkaku family is causing trouble behind this incident!"
"The Rokkaku family?"
"That's right!" Kyogoku Takamasa said slowly: "Now the Rokkaku family and the Hosokawa family are competing for Kinai hegemony. The relationship between the two parties continues to deteriorate, and there are strong signs of war!"
"This family is an ally of the Hosokawa family. If the Rokkaku family goes to war with the Hosokawa family, they will definitely join the Hosokawa family!"
"And if the Rokkaku family sends troops to fight with the Hosokawa family, then this family can take the opportunity to attack the Rokkaku family's back. Therefore, in order to resolve the threat from our family, the Rokkaku family instigates the Takashima family to send troops to contain our military strength. This way Only when the Rokkaku family goes to war with the Hosokawa family can we have peace of mind!"
"But the Takashima family's military strength is not enough to compete with my family. As long as my family leads troops into Takashima County, how can the Takashima family resist it?" Hatayama Asanobu asked in confusion.
On one side is the Takashima family with a stone height of only about 30,000 yuan, and on the other side is the Kyogoku family with a stone height of more than 200,000 yuan. The disparity in strength is simply not too big.
"Don't forget, the shogun is in Kannonji Castle now, and the Kuchiki family has always had a close relationship with the shogun. If there is an order from the shogun, the Kuchiki family will definitely send troops to support!"
"In this way, it can be explained why the Takashima family dared to come out in full force."
"The Kuchiki family, the Takashima family, plus other people from Takashima County, how can they gather a force of five thousand troops!"
"Now that the new banker has been defeated, my city in Takashima County is probably in danger as well!"
"It will be at least half a month before I mobilize my troops and arrive at Gaodao County. By then, the Gaodao family and other people only need to guard the mountain roads from Guanpu Township to Haijin Township. Even if I have countless It will not be easy for an army of ten thousand to invade Takashima County!" The more Kyogoku Takamasa thought about it, the more something was wrong. If this continues, Takashima County might really fall into the hands of the Takashima family.
"I'm afraid Imahama Castle has already learned about the situation in Takashima County, but even if our troops arrive quickly, it will take at least fifteen days!"
"So, whether this battle can be won depends on whether the cities in Takashima County can hold on for fifteen days!" Kyogoku Takamasa clenched his right hand and suddenly felt a sense of powerlessness.
Kyogoku Takamasa had never paid much attention to such salty people as the Takashima family before, but he never expected that they would bring such trouble to the Kyogoku family at a critical moment.
"Lord, what should we do now?" Hatayama Chonobu, Hayashi Masanobu and others all turned their attention to Kyogoku Takamasa. At this time, Kyogoku Takamasa was the backbone of everyone.
Kyogoku Takamasa was silent for a long time with his eyes closed, then suddenly opened his eyes and said firmly: "Bypass Tianya Castle and go to Kaijin Castle!"
"The only person in my family who is capable of fighting in Takashima County is the Numata Echinaka defender of Kaizu Castle!"
