Naturally, the Japanese at this time had never heard of anything like "affected by the warm and humid air currents in the Southwest Pacific", but long-term life always allowed them to sum up various life experiences and understand what kind of weather there was in which months.
For example, in Kanto at the moment, it was possible that the sky was clear an hour ago, but then dark clouds covered the sun an hour later, and then it started to rain heavily, accompanied by strong winds.
The main island of Japan is a long and narrow island, lacking depth from north to south, and Kanto is a plain area, so the strong wind blowing from the southern sea is completely unbridled because there is no terrain barrier. Under the violent wind and rain, people, horses and livestock are often blown away and roll all over the ground. It is definitely not suitable for marching and fighting.
This kind of unsuitable weather came very coincidentally. Just one day after the Kaibi soldiers left Ninja Castle, they encountered such weather. At this time, she and the two hundred samurai and Ji warriors she led had arrived more than forty miles north of Ishido Castle.
South of Ninja Castle, there are two nearest castles. The one to the west is called Matsuyama Castle (not the Bitchu Matsuyama Castle before the Mori family), and the other one to the east is Ishido Castle. Ishido Castle used to be the territory of the Ota family, and later belonged to the Hojo family. It had surrendered to Toyotomi Hideyoshi not long ago. It was located in Kitamoto City, Kitamoto City, Saitama Prefecture, Japan.
Not far to the north of this place is the current location of the Otsutsuki team sent by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. This group of people is indeed escorted by more than 3,000 people as stated in the intelligence. However, the intelligence seems to have overlooked one thing, that is, these more than 3,000 people are only responsible for guarding. In addition, there are about 2,000 civilians responsible for transportation. .
In other words, the entire reserve team actually numbered more than 5,000 people, and the general of the reserve team was not an unknown person, but Toyotomi Hidekatsu.
Toyotomi Hidekatsu was originally the second son of Miyoshi Yoshifu, and his mother was Zuiryuuin Azhi, so he was the nephew of Toyotomi Hideyoshi by blood. Later, he once served as the biological brother of Toyotomi Hideji of Kanbai. His childhood name is Xiaoji, and his wife is Asai Nagamasa's third daughter, Ae, Asai Jiang - yes, the third sister of Asai Chacha of Yododen.
As mentioned before, Toyotomi Hideyoshi's "harem" is divided into two factions: Hosei Ningning and Yododen Chacha. Hosei Ningning's supporters are basically the Owari samurai group, and Yododen Asai Chacha is the most powerful faction of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The favored concubines and supporters are mainly the Omi samurai group, also known as the obedient faction and the civil servant faction.
Although Toyotomi Hidekatsu, as the nephew and adopted son of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, married the sister of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's concubine, which seems to be a bit confusing, this situation is not particularly strange even in ancient China, let alone Japan, which has always been more in favor of closer ties?
Therefore, this means that Toyotomi Hidekatsu, as a sect of the Toyotomi family, has a close connection with the Fushou sect. From Chacha's perspective, it means that Toyotomi Hidekatsu is also a sect of the Asai family. .
Ishida Mitsunari is the representative of the faithful faction, and Asai Chacha is of course willing to support him. Toyotomi Hideyoshi sent Toyotomi Hidekatsu to lead more than 3,000 reinforcements and a reserve team composed of 100 large tubes to support Ishida Mitsunari. Maybe Asai Chacha also had the intention. Inside.
The troops are naturally strong, and the weapons and equipment are all "imported goods" from Beijing, so they are naturally the strongest artillery lineup in Japan today. As for the comparison of troops, Toyotomi Hidekatsu has more than 3,000 soldiers and 2,000 civilians at hand. Far better than the warriors of Kaihime Ninja Castle who only have 200 people.
However, they also have three disadvantages: First, because the Hojo family adopted the tactic of a full-scale cage battle from the beginning, Toyotomi Hidetoshi's army actually did not win any battles during the Odawara conquest, so the war preparations were The consciousness was not strong, and there was almost no sense of urgency in the battle.
Secondly, the sudden storm left the large reserve force carrying a large number of heavy artillery in a panic. Artillery in this era cannot use technology such as stainless steel. Although these artillery pieces are products of Jinghua and have always had an excellent reputation, things that should rust will still rust, and of course they need to be maintained. in place.
Therefore, as soon as they discovered that a storm was coming, the civilians did not even have time to temporarily set up their own shelter facilities, so they had to rush to cover the artillery. Considering the hurricane that the storm brought to Kanto, these coverings were not easy to handle. If the covering of a cannon was blown away, the civilians might be beheaded by the angry samurai. This was not careless. The samurai and sergeants were also so nervous that they had to put aside their identities and join in the work. When a storm comes, no matter whether they are warriors, soldiers or civilians, they are almost out of breath from exhaustion and just want to lie down and not move.
The last disadvantage is Toyotomi Hidekatsu himself. He was born in 1569. How old is he this year? twenty one years old. The only war experience he had was that he participated in the Kyushu Conquest, but the problem was that by the time he came on stage in the Kyushu Conquest, he only had to take credit. There was no significant performance bonus at all, and he actually didn't get much training.
Such a young general, apart from his blood status, has reputation but not prestige, and ability but not necessarily ability. He himself is a hidden danger to this team.
Of course, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who sent him out, didn't think this was a hidden danger. After all, in Japan during the Warring States Period, many young generals were able to lead troops early because of their origins, and after leading the troops, they won great victories one after another. It doesn’t matter.
Youth may not really be the main reason for not being able to fight well. After all, young generals are often more courageous and fearless. However, the opposite of this advantage is often poor thinking, which is caused by lack of experience and how to deal with accidents. The means are too crude. If other disadvantages are added to it, the disadvantages inherent in youth may explode in an instant.
Worried that the heavy rain would cause water accumulation and threaten the artillery, Toyotomi Hidekatsu temporarily camped on a small hill. Although Guanzhong is a plain, it is already close to the old territory of the Takeda family and has some jagged hills. It is not a bad idea to choose such a place to take shelter from the rain.
However, Toyotomi Hidekatsu did not expect that he would be ambushed. Therefore, when he was urgently protecting Otsutsuki from the rain, he did not even think of sending Monomiban to investigate the surrounding situation. However, the elite warriors led by Kaiji had already Touched the foot of the mountain.
"Princess Kai, it is difficult to launch the big cannon in the heavy rain. The opponent's firepower advantage cannot be used today. Toyotomi Hidekatsu is just an inexperienced nobleman. We can defeat them as long as we approach quietly and launch a surprise attack!"
The speaker was Shibazaki Izumi, a fierce general under Kaihime. In the previous battle to attack and defend Ninja Castle, he had fought against Otani Yoshitsugi, whom Toyotomi Hideyoshi was very fond of, and begged Otani Yoshitsugi's generals, Senge and Zaemon. He is the number one general in Ninja City except for the chief boss Masaki Tanba, and is allowed to use the "Shu Spear", a bright red spear, which represents the respect of his status.
Kafiji's armor was already soaked like the warriors around her. The rain kept flowing down her face, making her already delicate facial features appear more delicate and attractive. However, it also messed up her hairstyle. A strand of black hair fell from her helmet. It leaked out, and the tips of her hair were pointed on her nose.
Ji Feiji reached out and brushed away the stray bangs, looked at the situation in the distance carefully, and did not speak immediately.
A young samurai seemed to be answering for her, saying: "I'm afraid we have to wait now. Although the Toyotomi army is tired, they are not particularly relaxed yet because of the storm. I think it is better to wait until they start to make a fire. And prepare to go out when they are ready to eat, because at that time their thoughts are on drying themselves and eating, and their defense must be at the lowest. If they are suddenly attacked, there will definitely be chaos immediately, which will make it easier for us."
This young samurai is called Sakemaki Renegade. Although he has a relatively ordinary background, he has excellent intelligence and scheming. He had previously fought against Ishida San's headquarters during the offensive and defensive battles of Ninja Castle. He used a trick to obtain the enemy general's Kaizuka and killed more than ten enemy soldiers on the spot. But people retreated completely. So much so that after Ishida Mitsunari returned to his own camp, he angrily scolded his soldiers for being timid and afraid of the enemy, thus losing Lord Guanbai's face.
It was just a small battle. In fact, it certainly wouldn't affect Lord Guan Bai's face. The reason why Ishida Mitsunari was angry at that time was that Sakemaki Renegade had no reputation at all, but the special terrain of Ninja Castle allowed him to have a large army but could not deploy it. The frontline force could only be maintained at a dozen people in a small battlefield. The scale of the fight was really frustrating, and in the end, this unknown guy became famous in one battle, so Ishida Mitsunari couldn't help but take the opportunity to vent.
Sakemaki Renegade is different from Shibazaki Izumi. The latter is a typical fierce general brother. His combat ideas are simple and clear, that is, the brave will win when they meet on a narrow road. As long as they decide to fight, go up and do the fucking thing. There are not many other considerations.
Although the former was born in a low position and had a low reputation, precisely because he had nothing to brag about, he managed to read some books, including "The Art of War" spread from the "Tang Kingdom" and even the popular "Three Kingdoms" in recent years. "The Romance", in his heart he hopes to become a wise general with both civil and military skills, so he is more meticulous in his battles, hoping to take advantage of every small opportunity for victory.
Kaiji was obviously more satisfied with Sakemaki's statement. She stood up straight, nodded and said, "Then let's wait and make sure to win with one blow."
When she stood up straight, her entire image became clear. On top of her long black hair is a black hat-shaped helmet, and on top of Sakura's powerful armor is a crimson Jinhaori. On her waist hangs the Narita family's Namikiri sword, which has been handed down from generation to generation, and she holds a silver match. She originally had a black mount, but because it was not easy to get out of the city, she did not follow her at the moment.
The Japanese are quite unique in their armor and armor. They not only adhere to their own traditions, but also inherit and carry forward foreign countries, especially the "Tang style", so that the Japanese also have many styles of armor.
In later generations, shrines, museums, and even private collectors' homes in Japan have a rich collection of armors and weapons from various ancient periods. Their quantity and degree of preservation are among the best in the world.
Some people say that this is a manifestation of the spirit of Bushido, but Mr. Chen Shunchen's analysis of Japan's national character in his book "The Chinese and the Japanese" is probably the main reason for this unique phenomenon.
Mr. Chen believes that Japan is the country with the best preserved cultural relics in the world because a lot of Japanese knowledge comes from foreign countries (mainly China). This knowledge is combined with its local culture to form the so-called Japanese culture and Japanese spirit. The envoys sent to the Tang Dynasty risked their lives and traveled thousands of miles to come to China to acquire all aspects of culture and knowledge. Because it was hard-won, it gradually turned into the Japanese people's extreme cherishment of various broomsticks.
Not only is it reflected in the weapons, but many ancient Chinese anecdotal books can later be found in Japan, which is also a great piece of circumstantial evidence. In addition, as mentioned before, Japan is a nation that attaches great importance to family names. Therefore, armors and weapons are often used as heirlooms of samurai families and become symbols of noble family character and family name, so they are widely collected and protected. .
The development history of Japanese armor is quite long. There is no need to go into details now. I will only talk about the situation after entering the Kamakura period. At that time, the armor was more exquisitely made, and the silk thread (the thread used to weave armor pieces, with the Japanese word "twisted silk" next to it) was even finer. Wei silk can be divided into many types based on its color, pattern and weaving method, such as "Red Silk Wei", "祤丝伟", "褤取伟", "Xiaoying Wei", "Yao Chuwei", "Ze Wei". "Xiewei", "Jianweiwei", "Three-bird power" and so on.
During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the shapes of large armors began to diversify, and many new styles were born, such as 笠鋋 (a 鋋 that opens like a bamboo hat), a large spade shape standing in front, and so on. In addition, in order to facilitate mountain fighting, generals began to wear lightweight straw sandals on a large scale. In order to better protect their knees, Pei Zhen (knee armor) and Da Li Ju Ni Dang (shin guards with huge upper ends that can cover the knees) were also produced.
In the middle period of Muromachi, each samurai family gradually separated from the control of the central government, and local private wars became increasingly frequent. In order to show the majesty of the general, the use of large armor once again reached a new peak; and in order to distinguish between ourselves and the enemy, sleeve seals and hats were also used more often.
The so-called sleeve imprint refers to adding a certain size of decorations to the sleeve armor; the so-called li qian refers to inserting a small flag in the shape of a flag in the front position, swinging the tail of the flag to the back of the head, and using the flag color and pattern to distinguish it.
Mother's clothing also appeared. The so-called mother's clothing was a piece of cloth decorated on the back. When riding a horse at a gallop, when the wind blew up, it could shield arrows. Mother's clothes are generally five feet eight inches long and five width wide, and there is no fixed color. Generally, the mother's clothes of the general's family are mostly in wood color. Later, Oda Nobunaga selected generals who could fight and organized them into the "Red Mother's Clothes" and the "Black Mother's Clothes", which refer to the elites wearing red and black mother's clothes.
The armor is a unique armor form in Japan, and it is also a cultural heritage with national characteristics and artistic value that the Japanese are proud of. It was born around the middle of the Heian period and reached its zenith at the end of Kamakura and the beginning of Muromachi. In the late period of the Muromachi Shogunate, due to various reasons such as the frequency of wars, the civilian population, and the introduction of gunpowder weapons, the status of the large armor was gradually replaced by the tōmaru, abdominal rolls, belly armor, and gushoku.
The "armor" Kaibi is wearing at the moment is actually an abdominal roll. The abdominal roll can be described in one sentence: a tight skirt with suspenders - of course it is made of fine scale-like iron or copper sheets.
The "Sakura Wei" associated with the scale armor is pink but not conspicuous, the body of the abdominal roll is black, and the outer jinhaori is dark red. This kind of "iron and blood" color coupled with Kaibiji's delicate and wild and heroic face does not feel weird at all. On the contrary, it makes people look forward to seeing such a delicate and fierce female general in battle. What should it look like in the middle?
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