"It's really spectacular."
On May 18, the 10th year of Tensho (1582), Yu Qiupei, who was standing on the observation tower of the camp, looked at the huge construction projects around Bitchu Takamatsu Castle and sighed.
Before the start of the project, on May 15, the tenth year of Tensho (1582), the deployment of the Momiji Army was adjusted. All the Momiji fleet that was on the southwest bank of the Ashomori River and close to Yoshikawa Motoharu's headquarters were moved across the river to the northeastern bank of the Ashomori River.
The entire Momiji Army camped between the Ashomori River and Bitchu Takamatsu Castle. The Momiji Army camp on the southwest bank of the Ashomori River was also demolished by themselves. At first, both Yoshikawa Motoharu and Shimizu Souji were very nervous, thinking that the Momiji Army was heading towards Bitchu Takamatsu Castle.
Moving the camp marked the beginning of the general offensive. But then, the Oda army suddenly began large-scale earthwork operations of digging foundations and building earth walls. Souji Shimizu didn't know what was going on at first, but Motoharu Yoshikawa immediately guessed what Oda was doing.
The intention of the army's water attack was informed by Shimizu Muneharu through a campfire signal. However, when the Maori army tried to stop the Oda army's actions, Ame Qiupei's defense had already been completed. Jingzhe's artillery stood on the fort just built by the Hongye army.
above, aiming in the direction of Takamatsu Castle in Bechu. If Shimizu Souji dares to go out of the city to interfere with the operation, he will be bombarded by random artillery. And the reserves of the Red Leaf Army have all withdrawn to the northeast side of the Ashimori River. If Yoshikawa Motoharu wants to
To stop the Hongye Army's earthmoving operations, they must cross the Ashomori River in front of the 11 reserve units of the Red Leaf Army - this is obviously not something that the Mouri family's reinforcements can do. In other words, they can only watch Ori.
Tian Jun repaired the embankment.
At this time, looking at the spectacular scenes around Bitchu Takamatsu Castle, the Maori samurai probably felt cold in their hearts.
In just three days, the six-mile-long embankment has begun to take shape, and tens of thousands of auxiliary soldiers are busy around the embankment. The auxiliary soldiers who have returned from fetching water from the Ashimori River have already lined up in a long line at the construction site.
The workers who stirred the sand, carried the stones, and piled up the causeway were equally busy like a beehive, with dust flying everywhere. And further away on the road from the east, all kinds of baggage, sand and soil were pushed on carts.
The team of peasants carrying stones and tools can be seen at a glance, spreading to the end of the line of sight. From a height, they look like ants moving on a rainy day. The densely packed heads gradually converge into a black line, moving rapidly. Here are prepared
Around Zhonggao Songcheng, a hundred thousand auxiliary soldiers and civilians were fighting hard in Japan. The majestic causeway in front of them was growing longer, wider, and higher at a speed visible to the naked eye. Being in this vast construction site,
Yu Qiuping suddenly felt that his status was a bit insignificant. But when he personally walked down the sentry tower, walked to the crowd at the construction site, and stood on the three-thousand-meter long ledge that had slowly grown to a person's height, he
Realizing that the insignificance he had just seen seemed nothing compared to how he felt at this moment.
Yu Qiuping stepped back a few steps, allowing his sight to cross the long embankment and see the horse seal of Shimizu Souji at the top of Bitchu Takamatsu Castle. He took out his telescope, wiped the dust on the lenses and looked there - and sure enough,
A worried warrior was standing under the horse seal, looking at the embankment built by the Oda family. Even if he couldn't see his expression clearly, Yu Qiuping knew that he must have a sad face, or even an angry face. Because he was facing
What is happening is not an enemy's military action that is difficult to stop, but more
It was like a show off before the enemy's victory - there were countless ways to capture Bitchu Takamatsu Castle, but the Oda family chose the most time-consuming and labor-intensive one, just to pursue the effect of zero casualties. This
It consumes countless manpower, material resources, and financial resources, which the normal daimyo simply cannot provide, but the Oda family hardly pays attention to this huge consumption. This is not so much a strategy as a way to show off their strength.
His behavior - an astronomical figure in the eyes of the world, is nothing more than a sprinkling of water in the eyes of the Oda family.
However, no matter how much resentment and dissatisfaction the Mori family has, they still have no room for maneuver. The powerful Red Leaf Army is camped between Changdi and Ashimori River. The Red Leaf Army's position with this as a defensive barrier cannot be without a hundred thousand troops.
Possibly breakable.
Just as Yu Qiuping was thinking about these thoughts, he suddenly noticed that a dozen small black spots appeared on the sand under his feet. Then, the number of black spots became more and more, and then came the
It was the sound of pattering rain. Yu Qiuping looked up and saw that the sky had turned gloomy at some point, and the rainy season in the Kansai region had arrived as scheduled.
"Master Kuroda, will this rain affect the construction schedule?" Yu Qiuping asked with some worry to Kuroda Takaka, who was the commander-in-chief of the construction site not far away.
"Please rest assured, Your Highness, the construction period will definitely not be delayed." Kuroda Takaka replied very calmly, but his tone was confident, "It will definitely be completed within ten days. The rain was originally planned.
.When calculating work efficiency, the impact of rain has already been taken into account.”
"As expected of Kuroda-sama." Yu Qiupei admired from the bottom of his heart. For some reason, the guarantee given by Kuroda Takaka was as reassuring as the military order issued by Takenaka Shigeharu at that time. His every gesture exuded
His confidence and strategizing demeanor have the same demeanor as Takenaka Shigeharu did back then. Now that Takenaka Shigeharu is suffering from old illnesses and away from the battlefield, I am afraid that the man in front of me will inherit the first military division in the future.
"Please rest assured, Your Highness, Jibu, you only need to do a good job in the defense of the dike." Kuroda Takaka turned his head and glanced at Tokiwa Bei, who was meticulously patrolling near the long embankment, "But since Tokiwa Bei is here, I guess he will be here next to me."
There’s no need to worry.”
On the first day of the causeway construction work, Yu Qiupei dispatched Tokipan Bei to the construction site to prepare for possible unexpected situations at any time. And Fukushima Yasunari did not live up to Yu Qiupei's trust and continued to do so for decades.
Working diligently, Tokiwabei's soldiers would always be on guard near the causeway during the day, and would also be divided into three shifts at night to take turns patrolling. Yu Qiuping once thought that he had done his duty by setting up the formation closest to the causeway.
, but Fukushima Yasunari simply slept at the construction site with his reserve team. He would patrol with two shifts every night, only finding some odd time to catch up on sleep.
So, when Yu Qiupei came to the guard post set up by Joban Equipment at the construction site at noon today to look for Fukushima Yasunari, he found that the latter had fallen asleep leaning against the wall. Even though the construction site outside was noisy, Fukushima Yasunari
Cheng was sleeping soundly.
However, Fukushima Yasunari, who could not even be woken up by the noise from the construction site, was awakened by Yu Qiuping's deliberately gentle footsteps. After he rubbed his eyes and found out that it was Yu Qiuping, he immediately saluted and then apologized very much.
He said politely, "I'm sorry, Your Highness, I fell asleep while on duty. It was my dereliction of duty."
"No way, you are obviously too tired. You are also over fifty, working two night shifts every day, how can your body survive?" Yu Qiuping frowned, patted Fukushima Yasunari on the shoulder and said
, and at the same time glanced at Naomasa Ii and Shimoshi Sakai who were following Fukushima Yasunari, "You young people too, are you embarrassed to let you Fukushima-sama stay up for such a long night?"
"I also said it, but Fukushima-sama didn't listen." Naomasa Ii explained with an aggrieved look, while Shimoji Sakai also smiled bitterly.
"After all, this is a major issue related to the entire army's strategy, but I still can't worry about it. How dare I leave it to children." Fukushima Yasunari looked lovingly at the two young faces beside him, "They are still young. If it is at night
If an emergency suddenly occurs, they may not be able to handle it. It’s better for me to keep an eye on it myself, so I feel more at ease.”
"It's time to leave it to them. They are no longer children, they are all warriors who have experienced hundreds of battles." Yu Qiuping shook his head with a smile, glanced at Naomasa Ii and Shimo Sakai, and then turned his gaze again.
Turning to Fukushima Yasunari, "You can't always take them with you. As you get older, you should rest as much as you need."
"Anyway, after fighting this battle, we have plenty of time to rest." Fukushima Yasunari yawned, and then slowly took off his helmet, revealing his gray hair, "I originally wanted to retreat after returning from Kanto.
I went down. I didn’t expect to have another western expedition. But after this battle, the world will be completely peaceful, right? Your Highness? By then, I have nothing to worry about, so I can retreat and rest for as long as I want.
How long? It’s the last battle. It doesn’t matter if I’m a little tired. I’ll give all the energy left in my old bones to His Highness, so that His Highness’s twenty years of kindness will be in vain.”
"It's been really hard work over the past twenty years." Yu Qiuping also sighed with emotion, "From now on, I'll leave it all to the next generation."
"The world will be peaceful by then, and they won't have to deal with any crises. They will have time to slowly experience and grow, so I don't need to worry anymore." Fukushima Yasunari held the helmet around his waist and rubbed it with his old hands.
The hair of Naomasa Ii and Shimo Sakai, "You guys do your best then, I have to go back and spend more time with my wife and sons. I have been in the military for more than 20 years, and I have taken you to watch you grow up, but I don't have much chance to see you."
Those children in my family, I really owe them a lot."
"Yes, it would be nice if I could spend more time with my family." Yu Qiuping also lamented, and then sighed, "It would be nice if we finish this battle and don't have to fight anymore."
"Your Highness." At this moment, Asahina Taihei rode his horse and rushed to the place where Amakihei was. "The Momiji Fleet carrying Your Highness's troops has already set off to return. I would like to ask for His Highness's instructions as to where to park them?"
"Let me go back and discuss it with the staff, and let them wait for a moment." Yu Qiuping said, waving goodbye to Fukushima Yasunari and the others, then he got on his horse and headed to the south headquarters in the rain.
Chapter completed!