On the evening of February 6, in Danxia Village in the north of Narumi City.
After Mizuno Tadamitsu listened to the words of Hachiya Yorotaka who came to ask for help, he sat in his seat with a pale face.
"The Lord asked us to strictly block Narumi. It didn't take long before we revealed such a thing." Mizuno Tadamitsu slammed his fist on the coffee table, "Is Sakuma-sama crazy? If you go out to the city to fight in the field, others will annihilate half of them. , he is also seriously injured, can’t he even defend Shanzhao Temple?”
"Mizuno-sama, please calm down." Hōya Yorotaka whispered, "Sasa-sama asked me to tell you that everything is his responsibility. He forced Sakuma-sama to go out of the city to fight in the field. He is willing to bear all the blame for the lord. "
"Asura is still the same." Mizuno Tadamitsu sighed, and his mood had just calmed down a little, but when he thought about Zenshoji Zhai's unauthorized attack, which instantly worsened the situation, he became furious and shouted: "Why on earth did you do this at that time? Go out and fight!"
Mizuno Tadamitsu knew in his heart that the reason why the Oda family was able to maintain an advantage on the border and build rock fortresses to besiege Narumi Castle and Odaka Castle was because the main force of the Imagawa family was unwilling to go on an expedition. If the entire Imagawa family really came, the Oda family would It will immediately fall into crisis. Narumi Castle, Odaka Castle, and Takake Castle were originally Owari's territories, but they are now controlled by the Imagawa family. Although the Oda family built rock forts to intimidate the local wealthy families, they still control most of the land. It is in my own hands, but its prestige has seriously declined.
If Zenshoji Stronghold is lost, Nakashima Stronghold, as well as Washizu Stronghold and Marune Stronghold under Odaka Castle will immediately lose most of the communication channels with Owari, and the more than a thousand people stationed there can only be reduced to Zero Ground has fled back, and Yanzhai has no choice but to give it up. At that time, the border situation that the Oda family has worked hard for several years will be destroyed, and the wealthy families of Aichi County and Chita County will surely fall to Imagawa in large numbers. Home. The Oda family will forever lose control of southern Owari.
Although the total strength of the Oda family's five rock villages is quite large, they are scattered in various places. If you want to rescue Zenshoji Village, they must gather together. However, most of their communications with each other have been lost to Imagawa Their homes were cut off. Each rock village could only stand firm at the moment and did not dare to go to rescue the siege.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me." Hiroyuki Yorilong also knew that this time the trouble was serious. He, who was always aggressive and rude, also lowered his tone, "At that time, there were only 200 people from the Yuqiu family of Imagawa Army monitoring outside the village. We felt that we had an opportunity to take advantage of it. Then we attacked."
"Is there an opportunity? I think it's Asura who is eager for revenge." Mizuno Tadamitsu snorted, "Then how could you, 200 soldiers plus dozens of black warriors, be completely defeated?"
"Sir, Yu Qiuping's troops are completely different from those slaves in Zhili last year. Their combat effectiveness is exaggerated." Hoshiya Yairong now thought of the opponent's motionless military formation, the rapid and neat formation changes, and the sudden attack of the entire army. The momentum is still shuddering, "We all feel that Yu Qiupei must have led other troops, most likely the flag of the Sena family or Imagawa Yoshimoto!"
"Have you seen Imagawa Yoshimoto's horse mark?" Mizuno Tadamitsu's eyelids twitched.
"That's not the case." Hiroyuki Hōya said honestly.
"Can you send someone to confirm?" Mizuno Tadamitsu asked.
"I'm afraid it won't be possible, sir." Hiroyuki Hōya replied, "Shortly after we left, the Imagawa family surrounded the Zenzhao Temple Village, and the communication between the inside and outside has been interrupted. We may not be able to contact the three rock villages in the south. "
"Then what do you mean by the banner team?" Tadamitsu Mizuno snorted heavily, "Stop talking and go to Furuno Castle to report."
"Yes, sir." Hiroyuki Hiroyuki left Danxia Village with several men in black women's clothing who broke out before the encirclement of the army and ran towards the direction of Guye Castle.
After they left, Mizuno Tadamitsu looked at the retainers behind him, "What do you think?"
"Your Highness," an elder said dissatisfiedly, "Sama-san and Sakuma-sama made a big mistake, but they are still unwilling to take responsibility. They deliberately exaggerated the power of the Imagawa family to shirk the blame, saying that the Yuqiu family's troops were Imagawa Yoshi. Yuan's flag force is obviously nonsense. It is very likely that it was defeated in an ambush after leaving the city."
"That's right, I think so too." Mizuno Tadamitsu nodded, "The situation is already so serious. Shanzhao Temple Village may fall at any time, so our Danxia Village is the last line of defense."
"Once Tange Stronghold is lost, not only will our friendly forces in the three rock strongholds in the south lose their retreat, Aichi County and Chita County will lose control, and even the important town of Furuno Castle will be exposed to the Imagawa family's front." Mizuno Tadamitsu said. As he spoke, he tapped the map hanging on the wall with his hand, "So we must defend Danxia Village!"
"However, the large-scale mobilization of the main family during last year's autumn harvest has already affected the autumn harvest." Mizuno Tadamitsu sighed, "We have been fighting for many years and there is not much food in stock. We cannot delay the gathering of troops for spring plowing. We have to rely on our own strength to defend Tange. Village!"
"Sir..." an elder said hesitantly, "What if we are besieged for a long time? We don't have much military rations left. We must ask for support from Furuno Castle."
"No, it's too late." Mizuno Tadamitsu shook his head, "What if the Imagawa army has surrounded Danxia Village before the troops and food are shipped, and we have to wait here to die? In order to relieve us, the master will have to recruit people again. If the troops go to war, this year's spring plowing will also be affected."
"What do you mean, sir..." the retainer asked hesitantly.
"Collect food from the surrounding villages and go there early tomorrow morning!" Mizuno Tadamitsu said unceremoniously.
"But...many of those people fled from around Narumi City and Dagao City, and they didn't have much savings. The war last autumn destroyed a lot of farmland, and also recruited many men from there, which delayed the autumn harvest. They're afraid... they don't have much food either..."
"Is it time to think about the people now?" Mizuno Tadamitsu glared at the retainer with dissatisfaction, "We are thinking about saving food for the people now. When the Danxia stronghold is lost, won't everything be advantageous to the Imagawa family?"
"That's what your Excellency said." The retainers nodded in agreement and began to prepare.
On February 7, the Imagawa army was busy strengthening the siege and building siege equipment, and did not continue to transport food to Narumi Castle - there was no shortage of food anyway.
At the same time, Zhongdao Village, Jiujin Village and Wangen Village in the south made the same judgment as Danxia Village and began to forcibly collect grain reserves from surrounding villages.
On February 8, the Oda family basically swept away all the grain stocks in the surrounding villages, and the Imagawa family successfully surrounded Zenshoji. At the same time, the subsequent shipment of military rations was also escorted by the Matsudaira family and arrived at the army's military camp outside Zenshoji. inside.
On February 9th, Sena Ujitoshi left Sena Ujiyoshi and Okuhira Sadakichi to stay at the camp, while he took Uakiuhei, Asahina Taiheng and more than twenty cronies to ride on horseback to personally investigate the situation in Tange Village. In addition, Sent out detective horses to investigate the three rock villages in the south.
However, to Yu Qiuping's surprise, just as they approached the small village east of Danxia Village, they saw groups of people in twos and threes carrying small packages and dragging their families with them leaving their village.
At Sena Ujitoshi's signal, Yu Qiupei rode his horse over. When several farmers saw Yu Qiupei, Naoe Tadayei, Amano Keitoku, and Honda Nanosuke on horseback, they all tried to avoid Yu Qiupei in fear. After seeing this, they hurriedly jumped off the horse and led the horse over. Only then did the farmers tremble and stop escaping.
"Old man," Yu Qiuping waved to an elderly farmer, "Are you from Danxia Village?"
"My lord, the peasants are from Danxia Village." When the farmers saw Yu Qiuping approaching, they hurriedly led their family to kneel down and kowtow. Several farmers around him also knelt down immediately.
"My lord, you seem to be an lord of the Imagawa family, right?" the old man asked, kneeling down.
Amano Jingtoku frowned suddenly, and the crow on his shoulder let out a whine. He asked in a vigilant voice: "How did you tell that we didn't carry a flag?"
Hearing the unkindness in Amano Keide's words, the old man hurriedly kowtowed several times and kept saying things like "My lord, please forgive me."
"Forget it, let's all get up." Yuqiupei smiled and motioned to Honda Nanosuke and Naoe Tadayei to help them up. "At first glance, we are not from the Oda family. What else can we be if we are not from the Imagawa family?" Yu Qiuping's smile made a dozen farmers who were looking at each other feel a little more relaxed.
"Old man, I would like to ask, where are you going with a family?" Yu Qiuping asked.
"Sir, the common people are fleeing the famine. My second son is in Tongzhajian, and I plan to join him," the old man said honestly and courteously.
"Obehazama?" Yu Qiuping thought of the village that was devastated by the Oda family last year, and also thought of the war that broke out near Oehazama last year. "I'm afraid the situation there is not good, and I may have to make a trip in vain. Already."
"Nowhere is better than here!" The old man sighed and shook his head, "If I really couldn't survive, I wouldn't want to leave my hometown. This is the place where I have lived all my life."
"Why? What happened?" Yu Qiuping asked.
"Hey, don't mention it. The adults in the Oda family are all blinded by lard!" The old man spat, "During the autumn harvest last year, they dragged my third son and fourth son to work as peasant husbands, which really hurt me. Even the autumn harvest at home has been confiscated. During the spring plowing a few days ago, all the grain stocks in our village were confiscated, and we can't even get together seed grains. How can we live like this!..." The old man complained naggingly. For a long time, the farmers here accused the Oda family of their cruelty.
After that, Yu Qiuping followed the farmers back to their village to take a look. No one was farming the paddy fields near the village anymore. The whole village, old and young, went to the fields to dig grass roots and look for food stored by wild rats. Starving people could be seen everywhere on the roadside. There was a rotten smell. Several families' houses were burned down, and the bodies of the whole family were thrown beside the door.
"This is what happens if you don't pay for grain..." the old man choked, "It's like death. But so what if you pay, the whole village won't be able to survive."
The old man took Yu Qiuping to his home. There was no grain left in the house. The rice warehouse where the grain was stored was empty, and even the wooden boards were tilted up to pick up the grain that had fallen into the gaps. The old man
His two little grandsons also came back soon. They were both sallow and thin, and had not eaten enough for a long time. Each of them carried a small basket of wild vegetables, which was their food for the day.
Yu Qiuping couldn't bear it, so he left the dry food he carried with him to the dozen or so farmers. With tears in his eyes, he hurriedly left the village and went to find Sena Shitoshi to revive him.
"The Oda family has collected all the grain reserves, and the people in the villages around Narumi City will not be able to survive." Yu Qiuping said in a low voice.
"Yesterday, the scouts I sent to the south also reported that the people's food reserves around Odaka Castle were also plundered by the Oda family. It seems that they are ready to spend all their efforts to defend it." Sena Ujitoshi sighed.
Yu Qiuping was stunned for a moment, and memories suddenly came flooding back.
"Although, for a person like me who has no power and no great ability, I would be a little arrogant to say such things to you," Yu Qiuping solemnly looked at the tearful girl, "but I am willing to promise you,
I promise to all the families in the world who are experiencing misfortune. I, Yu Qiuping, will definitely do my best to save them so that they don’t have to go through life and death again.”
"Your Highness, this is not the main point." Yu Qiuping swallowed, hesitated, and said, "So many people will not be able to survive. Your Highness, please see...can we help?"