"The Sanada Odai people are going to form an armored samurai group. If these one hundred Odai people are removed, can you still control the two reserve teams of the Shino clan?"
Do you believe Yukiyo Yukiyo? Or Yukishige Kamarahara? Or the surrendered ministers of the Saito family in Iwaki Castle?"
Seeing that Sanada Nobunige was speechless, Umino Riichi showed a murderous look on his cold face.
"Don't worry, three days is enough. I will make them obedient."
———
The Echigo army was entrenched in the mountains, and fifteen miles to the east was where the Hojo army was stationed.
In the main shogunate, Hojo Ushimasa was looking through the engagement letter sent by Uesugi Teruhu just now.
She read the murderous letter at a glance, snorted coldly, and smashed the letter on the document.
"The long-tailed rebel asked me to retreat five miles to make room for her to go down the mountain, and asked me to join the battle on the plains in three days. How arrogant!"
Ashikaga Yoshiji looked at the letter of war on the document in disbelief and laughed.
"Is there such a good thing? The Fuma Ninja has found out that Uesugi Teruhora only brought 8,000 soldiers this time. Is there any fraud in her trust?"
Hojo Ushimasa sneered and said
"What kind of deceit can there be? It's just arrogance. I am used to being the hegemon in Echigo. I really think that the Echigo samurai family are brave and good at fighting, and others are far behind.
However, it is exactly what I wanted. I was originally worried that she would not dare to go down the mountain for a decisive battle after seeing the might of our army, which would make me spend more time. But now it is better, she rushed here to die, so I can only accept it with a smile.
Our army has retreated five miles, with its back to Sano Castle, and its position is stable. It is difficult for the Echigo army to use surprise troops to outflank our army, and there are no hidden dangers."
After Hojo Ujimasa finished speaking, all the Hojo ladies present couldn't help laughing.
Uesugi Teruhora's move was really a mistake. Both sides were elites, eight thousand against twenty thousand, and she could not even out the numerical disadvantage.
The ten-kilometer plain is neither too big nor too small. The combined battle formation can be deployed without limiting the numerical advantage of the Hojo army.
And because it is relatively narrow, there is no room for the enemy to make detours, and without room for clever strategies, the two sides can only go head-to-head.
Uesugi Teruhora's best response was to occupy the mountains and wait for the Hojo army to attack the mountains, using the mountains to offset the Hojo Ujimasa's numerical advantage. This was also the original idea of the Hojo Ujimasa.
The Hojo army will never attack the mountain. Delaying time will destroy the prestige of Uesugi Teruator. The Echigo army's hesitation will make the Kanto samurai see clearly Uesugi Teruator's external strength and internal weakness, which will be disadvantageous in the long run.
Unexpectedly, Terutora Uesugi had just arrived in Sano Territory and sent someone to write a letter of challenge, asking for a joint battle in three days. He was so eager to seek death.
Hojo Ushimasa and Ashikaga Yoshiji looked at each other and smiled, full of confidence. The territory of the Hojo family did not fall from the sky, but was won back bit by bit by three generations in the flesh-and-blood millstone of the Kanto Plain.
The two of them firmly believe that Hojo's 20,000 elite troops will definitely defeat the Echigo army. As the planners of this active defense strategy, their prestige will also increase with this victory.
The Hojo clan's political general became the veritable governor of the Hojo family, and Ashikaga Yoshiji also secured the throne of the Kanto shogun. This cooperation is a win-win for them.
Condensing his thoughts about a better life in the future, Hojo Umasa looked around at the Hojo princesses present and planned a battle.
Daidaiji Morimasa was appointed by her as the Kawagoe Castle Dai and led the Kawagoe garrison but did not come. Tame Motochu led his own troops and Kurobei to stay at Sano Castle to protect the Hojo army behind them.
Except for these two fourth-generation family elders, all the elites of Hojo are stationed here. How to arrange the formation?
Seeing that Hojo Ushimasa was thinking, Ashikaga Yoshiji asked.
"Your Majesty Ujimasa, which section of the front do you think the Imperial Guard will be responsible for?"
Hojo Umasa was stunned for a moment, then laughed dumbly when he saw Ashikaga Yoshiji's joking expression.
"What? Kamakura-don wants to compete with the world-famous Odaisho?"
Her tone was a little weird, and she emphasized the word "famous all over the world", which caused a burst of laughter from all the concubines present.
The Hojo family valued Terutora Uesugi, the lord of Echigo, very highly, but they were less in awe of the shogunate envoy sent to Odaisho from Kyoto.
The Kanto samurai family has always looked down on those scheming soft-footed shrimps in Kansai, especially the Hojo family, the fake Hojo family with Western elements, who are more concerned about this kind of ideological political correctness.
They are more sensitive than the average Kanto samurai. To keep their identity as a Kanto samurai, they must despise the Kansai samurai even more. They are considered a different kind of fanatic convert.
Yoshigoshi Shiba, the Odaisei's record of killing everyone in recent times, was an anecdote they made fun of the Kansai samurai family after dinner.
Whether this Odaisho is very good or the Kansai samurai is not so good, this matter is doubtful and difficult to prove at the moment, so it is suitable to be used to despise the Kansai samurai.
Uesugi Teruhora's proud and arrogant image, together with her brilliant record in the past two years, hides Yoshigan Shiba's edge behind her.
Except for the Koshinobu Mountain samurai who had suffered losses, the samurai from all the Hokurikudo countries were in great awe of this Odaisho. The Kanto samurai were almost unaware of it, and their eyes were attracted by Uesugi Terutora's strength.
Perhaps old people like Hojo Ujiyasu and Hojo Genan would not make this mistake.
But the Hojo Princesses present were either military bosses with strong military records or young and aggressive senior executives, and they didn't care.
When they heard Ashikaga Yoshiji ask about Shiba Yoshigan, the ladies knew what she was planning. Hojo Umasa couldn't help laughing and said.
"What? Do you really want to compete with a man in battle?"
Ashikaga Yoshiji laughed, showing the kind of smile that every woman knows.
"A fight on the battlefield? Let's fight on the pillow.
I heard that Ashikaga Yoshiteru, a man of extraordinary splendor at the Imperial Palace, was an unparalleled beauty. There is a strange legend in Kyoto, saying that Tamamo Mae was born.
I'm just a little curious, I don't know what kind of charming beauty she is."
The Hojo Princesses were moved forward and backward by her strange appearance, and they were so happy that they all lost their manners. Hojo Ushimasa wanted to be serious, but couldn't help laughing.
What Ashikaga Yoshiji said was extremely unethical and was a great disrespect to the Ashikaga General. Among the ladies present, only she, the governor of the Kamakura Ashikaga family and the Kanto general, had the right to molest the Ashikaga general's family.
Hojo Ushimasa laughed for a while, shook his head and said.
"Seriously, teasing the Ashikaga Shogun family during military discussions will have a bad influence."
Ashikaga Yoshiji straightened his pretty face and said.
"Of course a man won't go into battle, but there will always be someone to help him get those records.
I heard that the shogunate reopened the Kato Palace in Echigo, and even pretended to have the Imperial Palace head the post. It was completely unreasonable to cover up the situation.
The Ten Kingdoms of Kanto are the territory of our Kamakura Ashikaga clan, and are under the jurisdiction of the Kanto shogunate. When will it be the turn of the Kyoto shogunate to show off here?
This time in the Echigo army, there are samurai from the Toshisho sequence involved. I hope to confront them, firstly to relieve the hatred in my heart, and secondly, to end the dispute between the generals of Kanto and Kansai."
Hojo Umasa nodded repeatedly, feeling that what Ashikaga Yoshiji said was reasonable.