I am practicing in the Nianghua Warring States Period

"...Okay!" The relationship between husband and wife is very important, so Beidou Xinwei decided that he loved the country, but he loved the beauty more - I want both! "As long as I have time, I will save Saito Dosan. I swear, I will do my best to clear the obstacles to the north, but he must be able to hold on!"

"Thank you, thank you Avi! Thank you!——"

Chapter 164 The Gradually Unfolding Picture of the Mino Generals

She still has to thank me, but even if she thanks me, it's of no use.

Saito Dosan is not a beautiful girl, and he has no gratitude or indebtedness to Beidou Xinwei. Although his wife's tears are very heartbreaking, but one by one, attacking the city is also a necessary thing for military strategists, isn't it?

Although Mino is mountainous, one can only look up from the Owari Plain. However, the real world is not a golden tree, where one can see what is happening at the highest point from any corner.

Beidou Xinwei didn't see Saito Dosan at all, and after crossing the river, he couldn't see anything clearly. But that didn't matter. Beidou Xinwei led his team through the southern part of Shinano as if it were no one's land. Fighting and marching all the way, he came directly to...

The westernmost city of Daheng.

Owari, separated from Owari by a river, was somewhat disconnected from Mino. The defenses here weren't very strong, and Beidou Xinwei had successfully advanced here, as the nearby county governors had mobilized their forces to Sagiyama Castle, next to Inabayama Castle.

This move was actually quite clever. Saito Yoshitatsu initially assembled only a little over 10,000 troops, which was already excessive. But!

This is a token of allegiance. If you kill your old boss, everyone’s hands will be stained with blood!

So much so that when Saito Yoshitatsu besieged Sagiyama Castle, he deliberately felt like a cat playing with a mouse, and he had to play with it enough before he could eat it. He ordered all the people in Mino who could be called to gather outside Sagiyama Castle, and only then did he gather 20,000 people.

Most of the soldiers were farmers, and not all were combat-ready. I wonder if Saito Dosan truly longed for reinforcements while he was defending the area? Or did he simply not want any Oda reinforcements to reach Saito's territory?

Regardless, Saito Dosan died. He committed suicide before the city fell, preserving the minimum dignity of a samurai. This thief who stole the country is dead.

Beidou Xinwei has assembled a force of 3,000 men in Ximeng. Feeling deeply guilty for "not arriving" and "failing to rescue his father-in-law", Beidou Xinwei began to besiege Daheng City to vent his hatred.

There are two places next to Daheng City.

One is called Bupo County.

One is called Iguchi-cho.

One was the ancestral home of Fuwa County, the future Oda clan's renowned general, Fuwa Mitsuharu. Fuwa Mitsuharu later became a general under Shibata Katsuie and was currently a local tyrant in Mino. His family controlled a substantial 10,000 koku of land—capable of fielding over 600 armed soldiers, not just ordinary peasant soldiers. This made him a formidable local tyrant.

One is Bai Chong, the future famous Japanese Warring States Little Zhuge... Sorry to interrupt, there are too many Little Zhuges in this world.

This was the ancestral foundation of Takenaka Hanbei, the future renowned Japanese Warring States lord. Iguchi Town and the surrounding 3,000 koku of land bordered Fuwa County.

Takenaka Hanbei's grandfather, Takenaka Shigeuji, was a longtime subordinate of Saito Dosan. He was known for his selfishness and his tendency to follow his own people. He personally led the attack on Fuwa County Castle and held a grudge against Fuwa Mitsuharu's ancestors.

Takenaka Hanbei's father, Takenaka Shigemoto, personally captured Iwamori Castle in Fuwa County, dancing hip-hop on the faces of Fuwa Mitsuharu and his family, using all sorts of aggressive tactics. The two families' territorial disputes never ceased—including now.

Mitsuharu Fuba led a force of 500 to the aid of Daheng City—for beyond Daheng City lay the distance to his west, and he was determined not to allow the currently lax defenses of Daheng City to be lost. At the very least, he should wait for Saito Yoshitatsu to lead his troops to the rescue. Everyone had heard that Hokuto Nobuyuki was skilled in military tactics, combat, and sieges, but... not to this extent, right?

Takenaka Hanbei's father, Takenaka Shigemoto, also led 200 soldiers—and stopped at a distance. Takenaka Shigemoto wasn't as concerned about the loss of Daiheng City as he was, at least not as much as Fuwa Mitsuharu. The loss of Daiheng City was none of his business; he could just wait for Saito Yoshitatsu's reinforcements.

but.

The two local tyrants, Mitsuharu Fuwa and Shigemoto Takenaka, witnessed the almost explosive scene from a distance.

Beidou Xinwei led 3,000 people to attack Daheng City.

Oda Nobuhide, Oda Nobuhide's father, had brought a group to this area ten years earlier. To defeat Saito Dosan of Mino, Oda Nobuhide united several armies, a force of ten thousand men, and first captured Daiko Castle, which was already weakly defended. From this base, he attacked Saito Dosan at Inabayama Castle. However, due to the devastating defeat ten years earlier, Daiko Castle was subsequently besieged by the Saito clan for three months before being recaptured. Regardless, this was a formidable nut to crack.

Hokuto Nobuo led a force of 3,000 men, and fought fiercely for an hour at the city gate. After the gate was breached, he led his army inside, cutting through the walls from San-nomaru to Ninomaru, and from Ninomaru to the Honmaru Palace. He fought tirelessly, back and forth.

When Saito Yoshitatsu led 8,000 soldiers to rescue.

What you see is the flag of the Oda family flying over the Daiheng Castle.

To be precise, it was the flag of the Beidou family that was flying on the city wall, and there were 3,000 soldiers from the Oda family inside - the more than 3,000 reinforcements sent by Oda Nobuhime were still on the way.

"Why don't you go into the city to rescue?"

Saito Yoshitatsu's handsome face was filled with fatigue and helplessness, but the dominant emotion was anger! The kind of anger that came from not fighting back—he directly called in the local tyrants, Mitsuharu Fuba and Shigemoto Takenaka, to come over for questioning.

Far from home in Nishi-Mino, these two hadn't joined the siege of his father. At this crucial moment, they didn't even bother to rescue the crucial city of Daheng, effectively stunting the new leader. Saito Yoshitatsu's mind was filled with the saying: Kill a chicken to scare the monkeys, and they'll learn to fear; kill a monkey to scare the chickens, and they'll learn to care! Should I kill a chicken to scare the monkeys?

"Your lord, I am honored to report this." Takenaka Shigemoto is in his forties. He is holding the hand of Fuba Mitsuharu, who is only in his early twenties.

The two of them instantly let go of three generations of hatred.

"We've teamed up and tried several times to break through the encirclement, but... Beidou Xinwei is too powerful. We've charged repeatedly but haven't been able to break through." Takenaka Shigemoto sighed, "Beidou Xinwei is a famous general of his time, the bravest of all the armies. We're short-handed and truly... powerless. We even suffered heavy casualties..."

"Yes." Having already agreed on the tone and blame, Mitsuharu Fuwa immediately responded: "Our Fuwa family took the lead in this rescue, but ended up in a crushing defeat... We..."

"Nonsense! - Daheng City has only 500 defenders, and Beidou Xinwei must have eight heads! Can he capture Daheng City in a day?" Saito Yoshitatsu, as an Earth Online player, doesn't believe in the existence of such things as cheats: "Who does he think he is? Uesugi Kenshin!"

Uesugi Kenshin never used the second day to attack a city (except for the Hojo clan), so people in the martial arts world nicknamed him "Uesugi One-Day Attack".

"This... If you don't believe me, my lord, you can order the remaining defenders to confront us. I..."

"Alright, alright, this isn't the time to discuss this. Make amends and form your ranks!" Saito Yoshitatsu said in a deep voice, "Oda Nobuhime's army is in the south, three thousand strong! I plan to raid their camp tonight and defeat them one by one! Kill Oda Nobuhime first, then lift the siege of Daheng City!"

Chapter 165 Takenaka Hanbei

Japan has sixty-six provinces, but people are divided into different classes, and so are the provinces. The size of these provinces is infinitely close to that of a county. For example, Owari Province is 1700 square kilometers; it is infinitely close to one-tenth the size of Inner Mongolia Province, Tongliao City, and Zhalute Banner.

Even within these sixty-six kingdoms, there were different levels of lordship. The highest, Omi Province, boasted a land area of ​​approximately 800,000 koku, which was covered in high-quality farmland and abundant water resources. The smallest, Hida Province, had a land area of ​​40,000 koku, which was mostly mountainous and poorly maintained. However, administratively, all the lordships were effectively equal. If peace prevailed, the leaders' names would be read out during meetings, with the phrase "ranking in no particular order" in parentheses.

But! Isn't this a fight? That would be easy. A mere Hida guardian is not allowed to kiss the Omi guardian's mouth.

Owari, covering approximately 1,700 square kilometers, had a koku (approximately 500,000 koku) of land. Mino, roughly double the area of ​​Owari, also boasted a land tax of just over 500,000 koku. While the mobilization capacity was roughly the same, the costs were vastly different. This reflects Mino's greater mountainous terrain, and the resulting regional divisions and divisions among powerful clans. Dialects were common, making communication difficult even when crossing a mountaintop. This directly reflects the prevalence of powerful clans, leading to the prevalence of local turf wars and the increased cost of governance.

But no matter what, these two combined are internal battles at the level of a million-stone daimyo. According to the ratio of 300 troops per day for 10,000 stones, the maximum troops for these two can exceed 20,000.

Don't worry about me raising 20,000 soldiers. I won't be able to survive next year! If I can't defeat you today, I won't be able to survive!

But now, both sides were restraining themselves from deploying troops—a decisive battle was currently out of the question. Saito Yoshitatsu, still hoping to get on with his life, reduced the 20,000 men besieging his father to 8,000—a number that wouldn't defect in battle. Only with this number did he dare to leave the mountains and head for Daheng City to relieve the siege.

Oda Nobuhime only had 6,000 soldiers, and the two sides began to confront each other - in the future, scenes with tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people would become more and more frequent.

"My lord, if we raid the camp, what will become of ours?"

As one of the Mino Three who had been around since the time of Saito Dosan, Ujiie Bokuzen asked a question: "It's fun to rape other people's wives and daughters, but what can your wives and daughters do if they rape you?" - What would you do if someone came to rob your house?

"We have eight thousand men here, and Oda Nobuhime has sent two thousand. Military manuals say: 'If they have ten of them, surround them; if they have five, attack them; if they have twice as many, fight them.'" Ando Morishuni, one of the Mino Three, asked, "If our army brings six thousand men to attack Oda Nobuhime, we'll have fewer than two thousand men here. Hokuto Nobuyoshi is a genius, how could he not know our strengths and weaknesses? If he were to raid our camp, we wouldn't be able to protect our front and rear, and we'd be trapped like a turtle in a jar."

"If we leave too many troops in this camp, it will be insufficient; if we leave too few, Hokuto Nobuyoshi will take advantage and slip in." Inaba Iktetsu, a cultured man among the desperadoes, a big man among the intellectuals, stepped forward and asked Saito Yoshitatsu a question: "If our army storms Oda Nobuhime's main camp and fails, and our reinforcements haven't arrived, while the enemy's reinforcements arrive, then..."

"My lord," Ujiie Bokuzen concluded, "Our family has just experienced a major upheaval. We should not take a risky tactic and give rebellious forces an opportunity to exploit it. For now, I ask that you prioritize safety."

Our territory is far from here. What does a war here have to do with us? I really don't want to fight for someone else's territory. In this kind of battle to defend someone else's territory, there's no reward if you win, and you're blamed if you lose. This is why when Sun Quan was directly attacked by Cao Cao, the local nobles frantically wanted to surrender.

"Is Daheng City not going to be saved?"

"No, no. Daheng City is where the three clans meet. It's a complex network of forces. Even if the Oda clan came, the river would make it difficult to transport troops and food. We only need to let the Oda clan occupy Daheng City here - the local powerful families will resist them, and the Omi daimyo to the west will restrain and guard against them. If they leave a small number of troops, we will send a general to provide them with salary. If the enemy reinforces our army, we will retreat; if the enemy defends our army, we will cut off their food supply. This is Sun Bin's strategy of besieging Wei to save Zhao."

Inaba Ichitsu, who was a bit new to the idea of ​​siege and attack, said, "It's time to make a decision, my lord! Should we attack Oda Nobuhime at night? Or should we leave a bleeding nail in Oda Nobuhime's territory?"

“…” He opened his mouth.

Saito Yoshitatsu said that there must be a limit to how much you can deceive me.

Do you really think I'm young and easy to bully? Yes, we must admit, the Saito family has only been around for two generations, and the succession system is still the same: father-to-son succession. It's natural for people to look down on them, given the political instability and the alienation of their retainers. Just minutes after ascending the throne, they lost a crucial border town.

"My lord, the Oda clan once managed to capture this place, didn't they?" Ujiie Bozen hurried over to get some fresh air. "But they couldn't hold on. The waters of Daheng City are too deep."

"That's it." Saito Yoshitatsu was not angry even though he knew he had to go back and carry out the rectification movement.

He was almost furious, but he remained calm and said, "No matter what, send someone to the Oda camp to ask why they raised an unknown force and invaded our borders."

Saito Yoshitatsu's plan was to annex Owari and single-handedly challenge the Imagawa. After crushing the Imagawa, he would establish a stable rear base, ideally supporting a local force in Mikawa Province to resist possible attacks from the Imagawa and eastern provinces. Then, he would make his own way to Kyoto—this was his grand plan.

Just like Oda Nobuhime in the future.

Even a little more forward-looking.

"I am willing to go." Suddenly, Takenaka Shigemoto stood up and said, "I am willing to go to the Oda army, firstly to rebuke them for raising an army without reason, and secondly to find out the truth!"

"Are you sure?" Saito Yoshitatsu gave him a malicious look. You? Are you planning to change jobs?

"My son once met His Highness Beidou. If you don't trust him, you can let my son go and rebuke the enemy, and I will be a hostage here." Takenaka Shigemoto shook his head, indicating that he had no intention of changing jobs.

"Well, it's not that I don't trust you." Saito Yoshitatsu paused, then said, "But since you insist, then I'll do as you say and let your son question the other party."

————————————————————————

Takenaka Shigemoto's son was named Takenaka Hanbei Shigeharu.

He had met Hokuto Nobuyoshi because he was a disciple of Tsukahara Bokuden. The old man, now a senior citizen, had scurried from the eastern provinces to Owari to meet Hokuto Nobuyoshi, with whom Takenaka Hanbei had originally studied swordsmanship. Yes, such a frail scholar, learning swordsmanship from the sword master. He had been a spectator during that dojo martial arts performance.

I was completely bewildered. I felt that learning swordsmanship wouldn't save the Japanese. There was no way I could master Beidou Xinwei's incredible swordsmanship. So I simply gave up and went home to collect my intelligence points.

This time, he came to Daheng City occupied by Beidou Xinwei as an envoy.

I didn't go to Oda Nobuhime's camp, maybe I looked down on him a little bit?

Chapter 166: We are ready to fight to the death!

The style of painting is very important, at least Beidou Xinwei thinks it is very important.

Mino must be taken, but there are still some things to do before that.

"I have long heard of His Highness Beidou's name. I am overjoyed to be summoned to see you."

Takenaka Hanbei, who came to see Hokuto Nobuyoshi, looked to be in his early twenties. If he came as an envoy of the Saito family, then his status was a bit too low.

However, if he came as an envoy of both the Saito clan and the Takenaka clan, then if he continued to "hold on" and "hold on" to his status... that would be a bit embarrassing. Beidou Xinwei truly saw in him the resilience of a historical figure, not as indifferent to fame and fortune as he had imagined.

"Oh, I think I've seen you before." Beidou Xinwei looked at the handsome, though slightly thin, young man before him. After a moment's hesitation, he asked, "...was it during that discussion with the other sword masters? My memory isn't very good..."

"No, you're too self-deprecating. You're absolutely right. I never thought you could remember such a small figure from a corner." Takenaka Hanbei nodded and smiled calmly, saying, "Your swordsmanship at the time was eye-opening and astonishing. However... personal bravery is certainly important, but strategic thinking is also crucial, isn't it? Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, without any minions, were both capable of defeating thousands of enemies. However, Guan Yu was stubborn and arrogant, while Fei was violent and unkind. Ultimately, their shortcomings led to their defeat. My lord, if you want to dominate the world, you shouldn't be so anxious about the gains and losses of a single city or pond, right?"

"..."

Do Japanese people like to use the Three Kingdoms as an example? Or is this period of history more familiar to them? It seems that they are referring to the Records of the Three Kingdoms, not the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

"Master Takenaka..." Beidou Xinwei glanced at him and suddenly smiled: "Are you here to lobby?"

"No, sir, your will is as strong as steel and cannot be taken away. How can a mere lobbyist explain it in a few words?" Takenaka Hanbei said, "I have come here to ask a few questions on behalf of my lord. Why did you raise an unknown army and invade our borders?"

"...I will [give up the country] to fight against the thieves."

In a distant place (time + space), there is a place called America. The people in this place especially like to make cards out of nothing!

I guess until now Oda Nobuhime didn't know that she had a [Statement of Relinquishing the Country].

"My father-in-law, His Highness Dosan, worked hard to create a great cause. I didn't expect that at the age when he was old and enjoying the happiness of family life, he would be usurped by his rebellious son and killed his father!" He really deserved it! For all the bad things Saito Dosan did in his life, this is the end that God didn't bother to care about him! "In the end, he wrote a letter of request to my lord Oda Nobuhime, asking my lord to eliminate Saito Yoshitatsu. My lord came to help at night, but he never thought that he would be captured by Saito Yoshitatsu! Humph..."

"This...this letter of relinquishment, can I take a look at it?" Takenaka Hanbei was dumbfounded. If he thought about it with his heels, this kind of thing...was not impossible.

Saito Dosan, with his selfish character, might have ended up harming his own son. But... well... the veracity of this is questionable.

"I came in such a hurry. When Master Takenaka comes to Kune Castle again, I'll show you." Beidou Xinwei waved his hand and asked, "We captured Daheng City today. When our two armies clash on the battlefield tomorrow, Master Takenaka, please shout, 'I am a friend of Beidou Xinwei.' I'll have my soldiers deliberately get out of your way, Master. Please rest assured."

"? Your Highness..."

"Oh, that's enough. I know there shouldn't be any personal feelings between two armies at war. But since we've met once, my Lord, I, Beidou Nobuyoshi, am not a mean-spirited person. These words come from my mouth, and they enter your ears. Unless it's absolutely necessary, we won't reveal them, so as not to damage your reputation as a loyal minister. How can I satisfy everyone? I just hope to do my best. Go back and tell Saito Yoshitatsu that patricide and treason are unacceptable! Such traitors and rebels are punishable by all. Even if they don't show any sign of surrendering the country, I will kill them!"

"..." Takenaka Hanbei pondered for a long time and said, "During the chaotic times of the Warring States Period, such human tragedies are indeed tragic. However, there is nothing that can be done about it. My lord, Saito Yoshitatsu, has always suspected that he is not the father of the previous lord. He has been suppressed everywhere and is almost exhausted! This patricide is certainly wrong, but the arrow is on the string and must be shot..."

"Heaven, Earth, Emperor, Parents, Teachers, Benevolence, Righteousness, Propriety, Wisdom and Trustworthiness! Even if you raise a dog, it still knows to be obedient to its owner!" Beidou Xinwei felt that when the relationship between father and son reached a certain point, patricide was patricide.

For example, the final relationship between Ikari-chan and Sakamatsu-san would have been difficult to end without patricide. However, what Beidou Xinwei is doing now is to accuse others! So now they are immediately occupying the moral high ground!

"To be beaten with a small stick and then run away with a large stick, how can this be considered patricide and regicide? In ancient times, there were Boyi and Shuqi of Guzhu State. They knew that their father loved their younger brother. To please their father, they would rather flee to another country and give the kingdom to their younger brother!

During the 800-year reign of the Zhou Dynasty, Wu Taibo, also to please his father, abdicated the throne to his younger brother, who became King Wen Jichang! He cut his hair and tattooed himself amidst the barbaric mountains of Wu to demonstrate his ambition!

"You are like this, forgetting the relationship between ruler and subject, neglecting father and son, and having no ethics or morals! You don't know the humility between ruler and subject, and you make excuses for your own mistakes. You are truly a sinner! - I never thought that Master Takenaka is such a person! It's not worth saying a word, please don't say it again!"

Beidou Xinwei pretended to be in a good mood and scolded Takenaka Hanbei, then slumped down in his seat, muttering to himself, "Being a father is hard. I'm going to be a father soon too. It's so stressful and exhausting. Watching your children grow up safely is hard; teaching them to be upright is hard; expecting them to carry on your family legacy, prosper the family business, and bring honor to the family is even harder. My father-in-law has no problem with family affection, but it's a pity that the world sees it this way, and even his own son treats him this way... Alas, it's unfair..."

It is said that.

Takenaka Hanbei values ​​family ties and relationships. Of course, he's also a calm strategist. Beidou Xinwei hopes to show his partners that he has a rich emotional lifeline. He wants to convey that his company culture values ​​relationships and that he won't mistreat his subordinates.

"Master Takenaka, please go back." Beidou Xinwei waved his hand. The performance was over. It all depended on how the other party would PUA himself. "I don't have anything else to say."

"...Yes, I just spoke without thinking, and my words were rude." Takenaka Hanbei also looked ashamed. He said, "You are worthy of the name of a samurai. I felt your selflessness when you taught me swordsmanship, and I can feel it now... If we meet again on the battlefield, we will be enemies. But if the day comes when you can visit, the Takenaka family will be ready to welcome you."

Oh? Does this mean PUA is successful?

"I'll have someone see you off." Beidou Xinwei nodded, clapped his hands, and said, "Yoshihide, send Master Takenaka off."

"Yes." A beautiful girl came out from behind Beidou Xinwei.

"Ah!?" Takenaka Hanbei took a look and was immediately terrified!

When did my handsome young master come to the enemy's house in women's clothing and become a virgin?! ——We are about to fight to the death, why did the master become a virgin first?