War is by no means two groups of people drawing swords to kill each other, especially when the strength of the two sides is unequal. Which side is better in terms of military strength, weapons, logistics, organization, morale, training, and even strategy, and which side is better?
The odds of winning are higher.
All the warriors performed their duties, and the whole village immediately entered a state of war. If anyone among them was said to have the easiest time, Kazuha Sorayama would definitely do his part.
For the task of mobilizing farmers, he only conveyed the warriors' decision to his father, without any intention of making his own choices.
Judging from his experience living in the village a few days ago, in fact, the farmers have already spontaneously assigned their respective tasks.
Qingzhuang is responsible for heavy physical farm work, such as cultivating fields, digging rivers, and carrying grain;
The old and the weak are responsible for tasks that require skill and experience but require relatively little physical exertion, such as repairing tools and maintaining crops;
Women and children are more likely to pick wild vegetables, collect and cut firewood, raise poultry, etc.
It can be said that this collective farming lifestyle is second only to military groups in its clear division of labor and scientific employment.
Each samurai led their own men to complete the set tasks. Only Sorayama Kazuha seemed to be wandering around with nothing to do. In the end, he had to join the three Kanbei to participate in the formulation of strategies.
He rarely spoke, and he listened carefully to Kanbei's experience of the war as he told Katsushiro.
Practicing kendo in Japan belongs to the art of war, and warfare is more about the use of military art. The two have something in common, but they are very different. Under Kanbei's special guidance, Sorayama Kazuha felt that he had benefited a lot.
"If it were you, where would you attack this village?" Kanbei asked Gorobei.
"West! As you said yesterday, the terrain here is from top to bottom. The extremely powerful cavalry can charge directly into the center of the village!"
Gorobei pointed at the map: "If it were me, I would separate three or five riders and set fires everywhere in the village. The rest would be responsible for driving away the villagers, and then shoot them one by one with a big bow! Destroying the village is easy."
Kanbei nodded and pointed at the villagers who were shouting slogans and shouldering heavy logs: "Shichiroji did a good job. Look at these logs. He wants to use them to build a horse fence."
"You are indeed old partners." Gorobei said enviously.
In the distance, Shichiroji and the farmers unloaded the huge logs on their shoulders and encouraged loudly: "Yo Xi, good job! In war, you must run, regardless of offense and defense. If you can't run, you will die! Remember..."
Kazuyo Sorayama looked at the piles of logs on the ground and wondered, "Does it take a lot of wood to defend horses?"
Kanbei rubbed his head and smiled and said: "Korayama-sama is unaware of something, but it is actually much more than that. Not only do we need to erect a wooden fence, but we also need to make antlers and horses, and then dig a pit for trapping horses outside the wooden fence.
The terrain inside the fence should be raised, and the defense should be supported by spears, bows, arrows, torches, etc. If you camp in the wild, you also need to consider counterattacks, enemy fire attacks, etc. "
Kazuyo Sorayama never thought that the horse-proof fence that he thought was very simple could be so complicated. He frowned and said, "Then the defense task here is very heavy, isn't it?"
Kanbei smiled: "Don't worry, I will provide Shichiroji with one-third of the entire village's manpower. Moreover, this is not the main battlefield we prepared for bandits. After all, the terrain outside is open, such as bandits."
Regardless of casualties, if we attack from here, the threat of muskets alone cannot be resisted by this simple horse fence."
Seeing Kanbei's confident expression, Sorayama Kazuha decisively shut up and said nothing. It could be said that he knew nothing about this kind of thing.
Before he left the village to look for samurai, he originally planned to wait for the bandits to rush in and kill them all with his sword. It seemed that if he really wanted to do that, not only would he not be able to save the peasants, but he himself would also be killed on the spot, not even alone.
Hopes of escape were slim.
A few people walked along the main road in the center of the village from the west to the east. A small river passed through the village, and Dad's waterwheel house was built on the other side of the river.
Kanbei stared at the river and said: "There is a river to the east of the village, but as long as this bridge is demolished, the enemy will have to dismount and fight on foot if they want to attack. The defensive force here can be slightly weakened."
"What to do with the residents on the other side of the river?" Gorobei asked. "The only option is to abandon the houses and evacuate to the village." Kanbei sighed.
"Then the waterwheel house will also be given up? But I think that dad is very stubborn and may not evacuate." Gorobei also felt a little melancholy.
Staying on the other side of the river would mean being exposed outside the village's defense circle. After all, with their current strength, they could only shrink their defense and concentrate their forces against the bandits. They had no power to protect the few houses outside Guxuan Village.
"Let's find an opportunity to persuade a few farmers about this matter. Let's go and look in other directions first." Kanbei decided not to consider this matter anymore. After all, the most important thing at the moment is to carefully check every terrain and not leave any omissions.
This matter is the top priority, no matter how cautious you are.
"What a big rice field!" Katsushiro said cheerfully, pointing to a piece of rice that was almost ripe.
The terrain of the village runs from northwest to southeast, from high to low. To the south is the rice field extending into the distance, which is also the core of the competition between bandits and farmers.
Only when you have food can you survive. This is an eternal iron law, whether it is for bandits or villagers.
"The rice is almost ripe!"
"Well, so we need to organize farmers to harvest as soon as possible. After harvesting, we need to dig rivers and pour water into the fields, so that bandits will never choose this place to attack. Simply put up a fence, and a warrior leading the old and weak will be enough to defend it.
."
Everyone carefully observed the rice fields and found that there were no loopholes, so they began to walk towards the last defensive position, which was to the north of the village.
In the open space, Jiuzang pointed at a young and strong farmer and said, "Come on, stab me with your bamboo spear." The farmer was too timid to step forward, not to mention attacking, and he didn't even have the courage to look up at Jiuzang.
How can peasants attack samurai!
This is the rule of this era, just like a mouse never dares to wave its claws at a cat.
Jiuzang patted his chest and said, "This is training. If you don't want to be killed by bandits, if you want to protect this village, stab me!"
The farmer finally plucked up the courage, shouted and stabbed Jiuzang with his gun. Although it seemed to be extremely powerful, Jiuzang's feet did not move at all in the face of this level of attack.
He grabbed the bamboo gun with one hand, followed the force of the farmer's forward motion, pulled it behind him, easily grabbed the bamboo gun, and threw the bamboo gun aside.
Jiuzang didn't pay attention to the farmer who fell to the ground, and continued to drink to the people in front of him: "Next, come!"
The four people passing by did not disturb Jiuzang's training. Katsushiro looked envious and said: "He is so awesome! Master, when will I be able to do this?"
"You? You're still far behind, Katsushiro!" Kanbei said to Katsushiro mercilessly, as if he didn't care at all about his apprentice's pursed lips.
Sorayama Kazuha chuckled, and his hoarse voice rang in Katsushiro's ears: "Boy, when will you be able to stare into my eyes for more than three seconds without being moved, then you will be qualified to train farmers like Jiuzang."
Katsushiro looked at Kazuyo Sorayama with dissatisfaction, obviously he had forgotten the scene in the hotel where he was stunned by Kazuyo Sorayama with his eyes closed and releasing his momentum.
Kanbei stepped between the two of them and said with a wry smile: "Sorayama-sama, please stop teasing your disciple. Even I can't guarantee that I will be calm and composed when I look at you."
He turned to Katsushiro and said: "Katsuzo is a top swordsman who has experienced countless duels, so he can face the bamboo spear without fear. Katsushiro, you are still young and you can't aim too high. You need to practice more."
Several people guided Katsushiro on his shortcomings as they walked. Even Sorayama Kazuha, who had a cold temperament, also taught a few words about cultivation techniques in this atmosphere of uniting against the enemy. This is his thirty years of cultivation experience.
.
Not only Katsushiro, but also Kanbei and Gorobei felt that they had benefited a lot.
Soon, a few people came to the mountain woods to the north of the village. This was not only the place where Sorayama Ichiyo had been training, but also the burial place prepared by the samurai for the bandits!