Yu Qiuping is currently standing on the corridor on the third floor of the castle tower, watching the busy ashigaru in the city. The second rotation is currently underway, with twenty ashigaru carrying large stones one after another.
and lumber, either carried on carts or carried directly on their backs. The house to the south of the castle tower was now in a mess, and the ashigaru were holding hammers or wooden sticks and were beating the walls that were still intact.
, rising up bursts of dust. Amano Keitoku stood on the front line, not avoiding the dust that came to his face, and arranged the rotation work to proceed in an orderly manner. Chibei took action, helping to carry the heavy wood, and leading the transportation team.
"What's your number? Number 31! Don't stand here anymore," the chanbei greeted the dumbfounded ashigaru, "Go and build the wall in the North City!"
"What's your number? No. 92?" The guard quickly pushed the man back, "Don't run around, listen to Amano-sama's command."
"What's your number?..."
…
At the north gate, repair work is also in full swing. Several simple scaffoldings have been erected. Some of the Ashigaru people are busy clearing away the collapsed walls, while others are starting to build walls in new parts. Raw materials are being shipped continuously.
There will be no shortage of raw materials. There are still some intact parts of the collapsed city wall that can be used for filling. Each part is progressing
At this moment, Charlie was following Yu Qiuping's order, leading ten archers to guard the city wall. In the distance, the Oda family's horsemen and cavalry were wandering far away, with no intention of approaching to harass.
"Do you think the Oda family will come to interfere with us?" Yu Qiuping asked Omaezaki Nakahide.
"Hey, sir," Nakahide Omaezaki said with a smile, "I can guarantee that they are laughing at us for trying to repair Beicheng. If it weren't for your arrangement, I don't think we could complete the repairs in one day. Hehe, I really want to see it.
When they saw that we had completed the repair, the expression on their faces was hahaha..."
The official road connecting Owari and Mikawa intersects at Tomitatsu, forming a crossroads. The northeastern road leads to Takake Castle, the northwest one leads to Okehama. The southwest and southeast roads lead to Kariya Castle respectively.
and Anxiang City. Zhili City is located at the corner of two roads running northeast-southwest and southeast-northwest, east of the intersection of official roads. Further to the east, there is a small area of hills and mountains covered with woods.
At this moment, the Oda family's cavalry were dismounting and resting far away on the official road from Chirit to Okehama. Their temporary camp was set up on the hills next to the official road from Anxiang Castle to Chirit Castle. Now it is
Another 50-man cavalry team went there to change defenses and serve as an intelligence barrier. Today, they only need to monitor Chiri Castle until evening, and then they can return to Okezama.
"Hey! Look at those Imagawa troops!" Maeda Toshiie pointed at the Imagawa family at the north gate of Chiri Castle and chuckled, "Are they building a city wall?"
"Hahaha..." Maeda Toshiie slapped his spear on the ground, unable to stop his laughter, "How long will it take to repair it? Have any of you ever seen it take several days to repair the city wall before the war started?
"
"Stop shooting, stop shooting," Asai Masaki choked on the dust, coughed and punched Maeda Toshiie, "When someone is stupid, don't go crazy."
"I guess Lord Takigawa will attack tomorrow morning, and they haven't even finished half of the repairs yet. They probably used the materials they brought from demolishing the houses in the city. When will they be repaired?"
"Takikawa-sama doesn't even need to bring siege equipment. You can just go up along the slope." Hiroyuki Hiroyuki helped, "The scaffolding they built may not have time to dismantle it by then, so they just happened to help us again.
Hahahaha..."
While a group of young guys were joking in the background, Hidetaka Kawajiri and Naomasa Naomi were discussing the current situation in the distance.
"Narumi Castle has never had any intention of sending troops. It seems that it is planning to defend the city." Hidetaka Kawajiri said, "The 4,000 auxiliary troops that Master Lin urgently mobilized are already halfway through the mountain road. It is estimated that they will all arrive at noon tomorrow. Lord
After the reorganization is completed, Sakuma-sama will be left to defend, and he will personally attack with the entire division."
"Tomorrow morning Ichimasu Takigawa and Masaji Sasa will lead their troops to arrive one after another. Judging from the current situation, there is no need to bring auxiliary troops and siege equipment." Naomasa Namasa took over, "We are just starting to repair the city wall now.
Even if they repair it at night, there is no chance that it will be repaired tomorrow morning. If they have ready-made materials and sufficient manpower, it is possible, but according to intelligence, there are only more than 200 slaves there! There is no prepared stone at all.
.”
Hidetaka Kawajiri and Naomasa Naomasa looked at each other and smiled.
"The delay has been too long." Hidetaka Kawajiri sighed again, "The two days spent in Okezama are almost meaningless."
"Just think of it as waiting for the auxiliary troops to gather." Gao Zhizheng said with relief, "Setting up camp and carrying armor and food will not consume the physical strength of the soldiers."
"But if we had made up our mind earlier and attacked Chiritsu on the 27th, we might have captured Anxiang Castle today." Hidetaka Kawajiri thumped his scabbard in frustration.
"It's not that simple. If the wall of Zhili City collapses, it can indeed be brought down with a single blow. Anxiang City is an important town that has been in operation for many years. How can it be taken down without siege equipment? Is it possible to rely on soldiers to cut down trees in the forest and build ladders?
Are you going to attack again? It will take up a lot of energy." Naomasa Namasa said, "It's just that Chili Castle should have been captured as soon as possible. They had no morale in the past two days, and there were no people on guard in the city. If it weren't for blocking the Imagawa family's attack,
Scout, I have long wanted our troops to dismount and march into the city, but unfortunately we have been unable to do so. My lord, I wish I could have sent a few hundred men over earlier."
"The cavalrymen who ran in today seemed to be trying to boost their morale." Hidetaka Kawajiri analyzed. "I heard someone shouting loudly inside, and then the whole city cheered up and started to build the city wall. Now I guess
It’s too much trouble.”
"Perhaps some big shot went in?" Naomasa Namasa guessed, "It's all the fault of the two Sakuma-sama. After they captured Okezama, they tried their best to prevent them from continuing to attack. They thought they should just stop the attack as soon as possible. Even Chitatsu Castle was harmed.
It wasn’t beaten down.”
"No matter, if they haven't broken through by the time of You, let's go back and recover. Tell Lord Takigawa that we don't need to bring siege equipment and auxiliary troops." Kawajiri Hidetaka said excitedly.
"My lord has already built many siege ladders and observation towers in Tongzhajian. After Zhili City is captured, Anxiang City can also be conquered in one go." Gaozhizheng said with a smile.
"If you ask me, it would be better to attack Narumi Castle, Odaka Castle and Takake Castle to regain the lost ground." Hidetaka Kawajiri shook his head to express his objection, "After the Lord defeated Okezama, he focused on ensuring his retreat.
Invading the Three Rivers hinterland."
"Who makes Zhili City so easy to fight?" Zhizheng Zhizheng smiled again, "Such an important place is so poorly guarded. How can my lord be willing to part with such a piece of fat? Who is willing to chew on the tough bones of Minghai City?"
At the first quarter of the hour on July 29, as the sun set, the cavalry of the Oda family northwest of Chirit took a look at Chirit Castle from a distance, then mounted their horses and left. Instead, the cavalry of the Tian family from another organization appeared southeast of Chirit.
They cruised on the official road, forming an intelligence barrier and hindering Okazaki's intelligence collection.
"Hey, if you have those 50 riders, don't even think about breaking out." Yu Qiuping glanced at the southeast, and then set his sights on Beicheng. In the previous afternoon, the work was mainly cleaning and hoarding materials, and there was no repair work.
It went up very quickly. It is estimated that after another rotation, all Ashigaru will rush to the north city for major repairs, and the progress of the project will be accelerated quickly. So far, there have been no mistakes.
After another half an hour, the collection of stones and wood was completed, and all the ashigaru, led by Amano Keitoku and Chibei, went to Beicheng for emergency repairs. Yu Qiuping himself also took off his heavy armor, and most of the shirtless ashigaru went into battle.
They also worked on the construction site. This greatly increased their enthusiasm for work. Seeing that their great benefactor was now their savior, who was willing to work hard?
As time went by, the sun gradually disappeared into the horizon, and the Ashigaru people lit a large number of torches on the city wall and continued the repair work. Although everyone was very tired after working all afternoon. But seeing that the project was about to be completed, no one was willing to give up.
Finally, at four o'clock in the morning, the last few bricks were laid and the scaffolding was dismantled.
It was jokingly said by the Oda family that it would take several days to build the wall. With the efforts of Amakihei and the Ashigaru people, it was completed in half a day.
However, just when the Ashigaru people were excitedly preparing to cheer, Omaezaki Nakahide quickly stopped everyone in a low voice. "When you shout like this, don't the Oda family also know that we have repaired it?" He said with a smirk, "Then they
Don’t you know that you have to be prepared when tomorrow comes?”
While the Ashigaru were slandering Omaezaki Nakahide's insidiousness, they went to the well to wash themselves briefly and then returned to the barracks to sleep.
Yu Qiuping worked hard all day and could hardly keep his eyes open. He also planned to go to the bedroom of the castle tower to have a good rest. However, he suddenly remembered something and found Amano Keidei first.
"Lord Amano..." Yu Qiuping was interrupted by Amano Jingde as soon as he started speaking.
"My lord, please just call me Jingde." His tone was cold, even if he said polite words, he was still emotionless. At some point, the crow flew back and landed on his shoulder.
"Okay, Jingde, I would like to ask, is it possible for the Oda family to launch a night attack? Do we need to take turns keeping watch?" Yu Qiuping asked worriedly.
"Don't worry, sir, it's impossible." Amano Keitoku said, "Even at night when the moon is at its brightest, the Ashigaru people still can't see clearly, and it's difficult for them to run, let alone fight."
"Ah? Can't you see clearly?" Yu Qiuping said in surprise, turning his head at the same time, "Why do I think I can see clearly?"
"Maybe you have been eating well since you were a child." Amano Keide explained, "I can hardly see anything now."
"Is that so?" Yu Qiuping was stunned for a moment. Indeed, in ancient times when there was no large intake of vitamins, most people should have suffered from severe night blindness.
"So..." Yu Qiuping asked hesitantly, "How were those night raids carried out?"
"Night raids? Very few." Amano Jingtoku was also a little surprised, "Why do you ask this, sir?"
"This..." Yu Qiuping wanted to say that in the various romance novels he read, there were always a large number of robberies and sneak attacks at night, which seemed to have become commonplace.
"The Ashigaru can hardly see anything at night, so it's impossible to fight." Amano Keitoku explained.
"Then why not use a torch?" Yu Qiuping was still unwilling to accept that all the night attacks in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms had proved impossible.
"A night attack with a torch?" Nakahide Omaezaki, who happened to be passing by, laughed when he heard it. "Thank you, sir, you can think of it! Isn't that a target? The one who shines brightest with a torch must be you!" Omaezaki said.
Zhong Xiu smiled from ear to ear, "As long as you see someone who is not one of your own, wouldn't you die with one arrow? Who is attacking at night with a torch, hahaha..."
Yu Qiuping's face was a little confused by the ridicule, so he puffed up his chest and put on a dignified look, "Ashigaru head! Why are you talking to your ashigaru general!"
"Ah~" Omaezaki Nakahide snorted angrily, "Sir, that's what you said! I realized my mistake, so I will carry out a night attack with a torch." After that, he ran away in a hurry.
"This guy." Yu Qiuping laughed and cursed, "Then just arrange for only a dozen people to take turns to keep vigil."
Just when Yu Qiuping had arranged the vigil and was about to go to bed, Amano Jingtoku grabbed him.
"Sir, there is one more thing that has not been done." Amano Keide said in a low voice.
"What's going on?" Yu Qiuping saw the latter's serious look, although he had always been serious.
"Please allow me to burn down the castle towns around Chiri Castle." He said coldly.
"What? Why!" Yu Qiuping suddenly lost all sleep, "Why are the people's houses burned? It is estimated that almost half of their family property is burned. How can the people survive the winter?"
"No, it can't be." Yu Qiuping shook his head decisively.
"Your Majesty," Amano Jingtoku didn't flinch even after seeing Yu Qiuping's unkind expression. He handed over his hand, "These castle towns are of great help to the attackers. They can repair and camp here and make fires for cooking.
, and the houses are also bunkers to defend against bows and arrows." Amano Keide continued, "They may even tear down the houses on the spot to make siege equipment, just like we tear down the houses to repair the city walls, saving the trouble of going to the forest, and also
At the same time, it caused a big problem for our early warning.”
Seeing Yu Qiuping's relaxed expression, Amano Keide added, "If the defenders are strong, they really don't care about this. But now we are stretched thin and lack equipment, and we really can't afford it..."
"But... what should those people do?" Yu Qiuping murmured, still a little reluctant. "This house is the savings passed down from generation to generation, and the property they cannot take away is also left here... In the past few years, the border
Life is difficult for people, and a fever like this..."
"Sir, if you don't burn a house, you may have to pay for it with an ashigaru's life." Amano Jingtoku's voice was low and even a little cruel, "The property of the people or the lives of these brothers, which is more important?
Seriously, don’t you understand, sir?”
Yu Qiuping was silent for a long time, and finally sighed helplessly.
"I understand, please take someone to burn it." After that, he walked back to the room alone.
Lying on the tatami, soon I heard the sound of burning flames coming from outside the city. The dancing flames lit up the sky outside Chiri Castle. The scorching temperature came from outside the window.
The greedy tongues of fire devoured the houses in the castle town. Each house was the property accumulated by a family for half a lifetime. And they were being devoured by the fire that he had allowed. Yu Qiuping seemed to have imagined in his mind the people who had returned to their homes.
She cried bitterly in front of her house that was reduced to ashes.
"Am I running counter to my ideal of alleviating the suffering of the people?" Yu Qiuping lamented. "But I must defend this city, otherwise hundreds of us will die. But, is this true?
Is it just an excuse?"
"Miss..." Yu Qiuping murmured, "If you saw me making such a decision, would you be disappointed?"