Hojo Umasa was in a happy mood. The anger he had been holding back for the past few days seemed to be released in an instant.

Hojo Genan understood her thoughts, pointed at the gray sky and smiled.

"Let's hurry up and hurry up.

Looking at the weather, I'm afraid there will be repeated snowstorms in the next few days. If we delay, the journey in the wind and snow will not be pleasant."

Hojo Umasa felt even better after hearing this. He smiled and pointed at the military strength of the company and camp on the other side and said.

"My aunt said that we should go to Tsuruoka Hachimangu Shrine to avoid the snow as soon as possible.

I just pity these Hime samurai who are on an expedition to a foreign country. I wonder if they can get used to the snow falling from Sagami Country and shooting white deer."

At this time, Hojo Ushimasa wished he could fly to Kamakura. The stronger the snowstorm, the better it would be for the Hojo family. It would be best to laugh about the snowstorm at Hachimangu Shrine to see if the Echigo side still has some confidence in the stalemate.

Hojo Ushimasa said to Hojo Yasunari who was following him.

"Kang Chengji, my aunt and I are going to Kamakura. Thank you very much for continuing to take charge of the defense of Tamana Castle."

Hojo Yasunari shook his head and said.

"The governor is heading to the center of the enemy's camp. I'm really worried. Please let me go with you as a guard.

I have made arrangements for Yusheng City. Each department will strictly guard the city and perform their duties, so there will be no problems."

Hojo Umasa glanced at Hojo Genan beside him, and when he saw her nodding slightly in approval, he said with a smile.

"Then let's go together."

Hojo Yasunari bowed on the horse and thanked the governor. She wanted to go to Tsuruoka Hachimangu Shrine mainly for two reasons.

First, Hojo Umasa showed her kindness and was willing to compensate her for what happened to Hojo Tsunari.

As the new governor of the Hojo family in Yusou City and the leader of the Yusou clan, she also has to make a statement.

From yesterday's conversation, it can be basically confirmed that both parties are willing to carry out this negotiation. Then there will be no danger to the life safety of the group.

Being a bodyguard is just a formality. They accompany you to negotiate and protect the safety of the family leader. Showing that you accept the good intentions of the Hojo clan and that you are loyal to your master is the most important political statement.

Secondly, she was unwilling to accept the battle in Sano Territory.

She also wanted to meet the legendary Odaisho. What kind of divine figure he was that made his mother, the most powerful general of the Hojo family, die in battle.

This autumn and winter, the Hojo family was unwilling to lose. It was hard for them to accept their defeat to a reckless woman like Terutora Uesugi.

As a result, a group of people began to reflect on their omissions and errors, and deified the role Shiba Yiyin played in the Kanto Strategy.

They comforted themselves that without the presence of Shiba Yoshigan, the Echigo samurai family led by Uesugi Teruhora would not have been able to defeat the elite Hojo.

Only by thinking in this way can we heal the pain of the Hojo elite being absent from Sano for most of the battle, and make the Hojo family no longer afraid of the Echigo army.

Yoshigan Shiba is a foreigner and will eventually return to Koji, while the duel between Uesugi and Hojo may last for many years.

If Shiba Yiyin knew what they were thinking, he would definitely shake his head and smile bitterly.

Echigo Country is prosperous, with plain farming, gold and silver minerals, specialty green hemp, coastal salt, and port trade. The proud Terutora Uesugi is a veritable rich second generation, and his capital is really rich.

Because this rich land is blocked by the Echigo Mountains, the cold wind from the Sea of ​​Japan cannot pass through Honshu Island and always echoes in the Echigo Plain, resulting in extremely cold winters and thick snow cover.

The wind and snow in Echigo Kingdom were far more violent than those in Sagami Kingdom. The Echigo samurai family grew up in the cold wind and became determined and unafraid of death.

Under normal circumstances, wealthy places lack martial arts, and strong places are mostly poor. However, Echigo Country is an exception caused by the special geographical environment.

The elite equipment brought by wealth and the fighting spirit brought by harsh winter combined to form the unique Echigo samurai group.

Even without the presence of Shiba Yoshigan, the Echigo samurai family still had the confidence to go south and sweep across the Kanto Plain, beating the Hojo family into panic.

Although Terutora Uesugi has many shortcomings, she is really good at fighting, otherwise she would not be able to suppress the powerful Echigo samurai group.

The Hojo family has been abusing people in Kanhachishu for a long time. It is the first time they encounter the Echigo samurai family. If they use pure military strength to fight against them, they will definitely suffer a big loss.

The biggest problem of the Echigo samurai group is its superstition of force and internal instability. Once the opponent changes its mind and uses off-the-beaten-path tactics to intensify the internal conflicts of Echigo, it will most likely be effective.

Both Takeda Harunobu and Hojo Ujiyasu were politically more mature than Uesugi Terutora, and they did not lack the strategic means to fight against Echigo.

But if Terutora Uesugi, who only focused on military power and could suppress the entire Echigo samurai group with an iron fist, could beat them both one by one.

———

Yoshigan Shiba looked at the increasingly heavy snowstorm outside, and Terutora Uesugi behind him said.

"The Hojo clan has arrived, and the negotiations will begin in the afternoon."

Yiyin said in shock.

"So urgent?"

He looked at the wind and snow outside again, realized something, and sighed.

"The weather is indeed conducive to their negotiations, no wonder they are impatient.

How is the military situation at the base? Is there any problem with supplies after the blizzard?"

Terutora Uesugi said proudly.

"You have also lived in Echigo for two years. How can the snow season here be compared with Echigo? The severity is far worse.

The Echigo samurai family has long been accustomed to harsh winters, so they won’t have any problems.”

Yiyin shook his head and said nothing.

Uesugi Terutora's words were indeed very encouraging, and the Echigo samurai family could endure the bitter cold, but the superiors could not think about the problem in this way.

The consumption of expeditions in winter is much greater than that in spring and autumn, not to mention the cold weather consumes more calories and eats more. Just warm clothes, tents and firewood can overwhelm the weak logistical supply capabilities of the Wu family.

The wars fought by the Wu family are often small-scale, short-term, and close-range.

Geographically, the scale of fighting between the small plains separated by mountains is not too large, and low-intensity small-scale wars break out all year round.

Politically, the guardian daimyo under the guardian system often have decentralized power, making it difficult to mobilize large-scale military expeditions. However, the Warring States daimyo who broke away from the guardian system and developed towards centralized power have not yet taken shape.

Looking at it from another perspective, although the Japanese samurai are good at fighting, they lack experience in large-scale combat and have poor logistical supplies. This is also the reason why the Japanese army will be defeated by the Ming army in tomorrow's Korean War.

No matter how many partial tactical victories there were, the overall strategy was a complete failure.

Before the war, there was no mature bureaucracy to organize logistical supplies, and military supplies were mostly replenished by plundering local supplies.

During wartime, various ministries lacked contact and there was no long-term unified military organization to coordinate and order, making it almost impossible to coordinate operations.

Although Japan can mobilize the population and economy of two Chinese provinces to launch a war, its individual soldiers fight ferociously and have a tenacious will to fight. However, in a war at the national level, this advantage is not enough.

There is no mature logistics system to support operations thousands of miles away, and they lack experience in large-scale corps operations. These Japanese warriors, who are not afraid of death, will be crushed by the Ming army's size advantage, which has no shortcomings.

The difficulties Yiyin is facing now are the same.

The Echigo samurai family had previously fought at home, or in Echigo and northern Shinano countries near Echigo country, so the logistical pressure was not great.

This time, the Echigo army crossed the two countries of Ueno and Musashi, and fought against the local snakes, the Hojo family, in Sagami country. The requirements for logistical supplies were very high.

After the weather turns cold, the consumption of materials to maintain the army will increase by at least two to three times. And the water transportation that maintains the army's logistics will be cut off by the ice, and the transportation capacity will more than double.

The supply problem is very serious. Uesugi Teruhu's words about the Echigo samurai's endurance of the bitter cold can't cover it up.

The world is material, and no matter how strong your spirit is, it must have material support as a carrier. If you don't have enough food and clothing, the army will still fight a war.

The Wu family is not like that. They have not sacrificed their own dedication. If they continue like this, there will definitely be problems.

Moreover, there were a total of 20,000 troops stationed on the Katase River, 10,000 of whom were Echigo troops. This number far exceeded the number of soldiers that ordinary daimyo could mobilize.

If these people were lost in Sagami Country, the Echigo samurai group would be doomed. This time they had to pull out all their backbone forces to organize a fighting force of ten thousand people.

Once these Echigo elites were lost, Uesugi Teruhora and Shiba Yoshigan would not be able to control the Echigo Kingdom at all.

He is not in a centralized dynasty, but in Japan where the samurai family knows and practices. In their own territory, the samurai family is a local overlord who controls the military, government and finance.

Most of the Hojo elite were lost in the Sano Territory. Hojo Ushimasa's family went to beg for forgiveness, and they had to rely on external threats and oppression from the Echigo army to barely unite the Hojo retainers.

The Echigo samurai group is not a united Hojo family. Once the principals of each family who are close to the two masters are killed in battle, God knows what will happen.

Imagawa Yoshimoto died in Okezama and lost many important ministers in the battle. Her daughter Imagawa clan directly lost control of the territory of the Three Kingdoms, and could not command her to leave Sunfu Castle, and finally ended up losing her country and going into exile.

Yoshigan Shiba looked at Uesugi Terutora worriedly. If the Echigo samurai family lost most of their money here, it would only be worse for the two of them when they returned to Echigo.

It's not that Teruhora Uesugi doesn't understand the reason, but she just doesn't want to show weakness in front of her sweetheart.

She knew very well that it was difficult on her side, but the Hojo family was not easy either.

The two sides are now like two competing knights, both racing towards each other. Whoever dares to show timidity and rein in his horse will lose.

This is a game for the brave, where not only wisdom is at stake, but also courage and courage.

Teruhora Uesugi gathered his thoughts and said in a deep voice.

"Hojo Ujimasa would like to see you before negotiating."

Yiyin raised his eyebrows.

"Oh? What is her intention?"

Teru Uesugi shook his head and said.

"It's just a simple visit to express my respect for you and my condolences for General Ashikaga's misfortune."

Yiyin thought for a moment and nodded.
To be continued...