A samurai who doesn't want to be a daimyo is not a good onmyoji

Chapter 185
In the next half month, in addition to receiving letters and congratulatory gifts from Takenaka Hanbei, Hachisuka Koroku, Hosokawa Fujitaka, Imagawa Sotatsu and others, the entire Omi area was also undergoing changes.

Asai Nagamasa soon received news that the Rokkaku family had begun mobilizing to recruit Ashigaru.Moreover, they also found a good excuse, saying that Asai Nagamasa was committing great injustice by turning his son against his father. The Rokkaku family did not want to invade the Asai family, but just wanted Asai Hisamasa to return to his throne.

It's just that this excuse is so bad that no one with a brain would believe it, not even the Rokkaku family themselves.

But when the news reached Kitanomi Kotani Castle, all the retainers felt their anger rising. They felt that they had been fooled.

If Kumasa-sama is allowed to return to his position, won't this family fall back into the same situation of being oppressed by the Rokkaku family in the past?This is absolutely impossible!

So there was no need for Asai Nagamasa to open his mouth. All the retainers strongly demanded a fight with the other party.

Seeing that morale was available, Asai Nagamasa gave an order to officially prepare for war with the Rokkaku family.

All the retainers were excited and raised armies one after another. Under the leadership of the new head of the family, they also wanted to avenge their past humiliation.

During this process, Suzuki Akane from Zagazhong arrived first, and she did not hide her identity at all this time. She even dressed up specially, which not only showed her beauty, but also her heroic spirit. Its purpose is self-evident.

Not only Asai Nagamasa saw it at first sight, but even Ning Ning and Kaga also understood that this was probably a honey trap for him.

The number of Zahe people following her was twice as many as she had promised before, totaling thirty.

According to what she said, and the letter she carried, handwritten by the head of the Suzuki family, Suzuki Satao Shigei, it was shown that this was actually for the sake of the friendship between the Suzuki family Zaigashou and the Asai family.

Therefore, the Suzuki family is willing to send these Zaga soldiers to train iron artillery for Asai Nagamasa for free, and even allow them to participate in the war as soldiers. At the same time, Suzuki Shigei also warmly invited Asai Nagamasa to visit Zaga Castle.

Asai Nagamasa naturally expressed his gratitude, and at the same time he became more and more certain that the other party must be asking for something from him.

Combined with the aura of the ownerless bird guardian spirit that Huang felt before, the answer is actually obvious.

Akane Suzuki and even the Suzuki family found an ownerless bird guardian spirit somewhere, and they also knew how precious it was.

It's just that they can't get it yet.

That's why they were so friendly when they met themselves who could use magic by chance, and even let Akane Suzuki, who seemed very independent at first sight, use a honey trap on them, just to let themselves help them get that Guardian spirit.

But since Suzuki Akane didn't take the initiative to speak, Asai Nagamasa was also happy to have some free time, and he just happened to make more use of these free tools.

Soon, Suzuki Akane and the miscellaneous people she brought exerted their full efforts to help Asai Nagamasa and Miyabe Tsugujun train the iron artillery.

Coupled with the iron cannons that Asai Nagamasa obtained from the Nanman people, many wealthy merchants in the border town, and the friendly military guards of the country, a 500-man iron cannon unit was initially formed.

Not to mention, as the first force in the emergency area to come into contact with iron cannons and equip them on a large scale into the army, Zahezhong indeed has a lot of experience and skills in using iron cannons. Many seemingly inconspicuous things can improve A lot of fighting power.

Coupled with advanced iron cannon tactics, the power of iron cannons in actual combat can be further improved.

For example, Suzuki Akane proudly declared that she was the first in the Suzuki family to propose a division of labor in the shooting and loading of iron cannons.

In addition to the professionally trained iron artillerymen responsible for shooting, three auxiliary personnel can also be equipped: one of them is responsible for loading and compacting gunpowder, one is responsible for loading lead bullets, the other is responsible for hanging the match rope and adjusting the trigger, and finally the fourth person , and also the iron artilleryman with the best shooting skills among the four fired it himself.

For such a four-person combination, when engaging in ambushes or positional battles, as long as multiple iron cannons are prepared in advance, their combat efficiency will be greatly improved. If ordinary iron cannons require dozens of breaths to load, then this This method only takes less than one-third of the time to fire continuously.

After greatly increasing the reloading speed, the Zahe Zhong has many more combat strategies to choose from. In the past few years, they have habitually led the enemy to ambush locations with complex environments, and then used iron cannons to attack them. attack.

This greatly improved their combat effectiveness and winning rate, and was one of the reasons why they occupied most of Kii Country and even took over Zaga Castle in a short period of time.

It was precisely because of her invention that Suzuki Satao, the head of the Suzuki family, allowed her to lead the Zaga people as mercenaries as a woman after her repeated pleas, and he named this strategy Bottle strike.

In Asai Nagamasa's view, this name was really bad. Isn't this just seducing the enemy, flying a kite, and then ambushing him?Why do you need to choose a name specifically for this?

Then if you divide the [-] iron artillery troops into five brigades and fire in turns, can you call it a five-stage roundabout attack?

Well, it seems that Oda Nobunaga invented a similar method of iron cannon warfare later, and named it Sanduanjian
Suzuki Akane was still full of confidence, but she didn't expect that for the first time she officially participated in mercenary activities, she would encounter such a powerful enemy as Asai Nagamasa. If she hadn't been quick to see the opportunity and shot all her employers, she would have I am afraid that I may not be able to return to Zahe City alive.

However, the failure of this mission not only caused her status in Zaga Castle to drop significantly, but also created a deep rift between the Suzuki family and the Nagashima City Ichikai clan.

Although Suzuki Akane did kill all the monks present at the time, she and the other Zagres survived, which in itself is the biggest doubt.

Moreover, they always have no need for real evidence, as long as there is suspicion, that is enough!
She complained to Nagamasa Asai sadly, and at the same time, she did not forget to show her beautiful face and slender fair neck.

However, Asai Nagamasa was unmoved. He just listened quietly without any expression.

It's not that he is not interested in women at all, but although she is also a rare beauty, among all the women he has seen, she probably cannot even be ranked in the top five.

Axiu, Ningning, Aguo, Kaga, Noji, Ashi. Which one of them is not more beautiful than her?
If they want to help the Suzuki family deal with the unknown bird guardian spirit just by virtue of their beauty without paying any other price, then it can only be said that they have thought too much. After all, the initiative now lies with them. in hand.

Moreover, Suzuki Akane obviously lacks experience in seducing men. Her purpose is too clear. Such a deliberate behavior has actually lost a lot of fun.

Probably later on, she realized this herself, so within two days, she returned to normal state again, and turned all her energy to training iron artillery soldiers, as if she wanted to make up for it in this way. Her previous transgressions.

However, Asai Nagamasa discovered that among the many miscellaneous people, there was a young man who kept secretly peeking at him. In addition to admiration, there was also an inexplicable emotion, especially in Suzuki. When Akane showed off her beauty to him, his expression became even more intriguing.

It's not jealousy, but something else. Combined with his age and his somewhat similar face to Akane Suzuki, Asai Nagamasa had a guess. Could it be that he was her biological brother?

But since the other party didn't say anything, and he didn't ask any questions, let's just leave it at that for the time being, anyway, it's definitely not me who can't go on.

So he followed his previous promise, appointing his apprentice Miyabe Jirun as the iron cannon executive, commanding five hundred iron artillery soldiers, and receiving training from Zahezhong. The temple city flows over.In this era, what iron cannons lack is not power, but range and accuracy. Asai Nagamasa has no way to solve the problem of range for the time being, but in terms of accuracy, more practice will always be effective.

A few days later, Tokichiro also ran back in a hurry. Just as Asai Nagamasa had expected, the reason why he did not rush back to congratulate him as soon as he took over was because he was preparing for a ceremony. A super generous gift.

In addition to dozens of spiritual stones of various sizes, he also donated more than 50 war horses, including a dozen Kiso horses from the Kai area.

You must know that war horses are still very rare in the Asai family at present, because the Omi area does not produce good horses, and because war horses are very expensive to buy or raise, the Asai family currently does not have any cavalry troops.

Only some mid-level and high-level warriors have their own horses, but the quality is uneven. It is actually very reluctant to call them war horses.

They can carry people, but they cannot charge in a chaotic battlefield, and it is even difficult to stay calm. They will tremble or even go crazy because of fear. For samurai, the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages.

Therefore, they often do not charge on horseback. Instead, after arriving at their destination on horseback, they jump off the horse and fight on foot. They are not really cavalry at all.

So the value of Tokichiro's gift can be imagined. All his horses are real war horses.

Although this was only his first time in Xiaodani City, based on this great achievement, almost all the samurai in Xiaodani City immediately got to know this short man who looked like a monkey.

Although he is really ugly and short, he is really capable and generous enough!

Therefore, when Asai Nagamasa took advantage of the situation and appointed Tokichiro as an infantry general with a salary of 150 koku, he was temporarily responsible for internal affairs and assisted in the preliminary preparations for road construction and canal digging, so that he could truly achieve success in one step, almost no one had any objections.

On the one hand, this is because Asai Nagamasa has just taken office not long ago, and as long as it is not too excessive, the retainers are generally not stupid enough to get into trouble with him. On the other hand, it is because the value of the more than 50 horses alone is actually far more than This salary is many times higher.

This is no longer something you can definitely buy if you want to spend money, because the Kai Takeda family has extremely strict control over Kiso horses and has always regarded them as their most important military strategic materials.

So in fact, many samurai were surprised and admired by this. Even Asai Nagamasa was a little confused and couldn't figure out where he got these horses.

Tokichiro was naturally secretly pleased with these looks, but he was extremely humble on the surface when he first arrived, and even kept secretly warning himself that he must not rise from a mere farmer's son to an infantry general qualified to command a hundred people. Too proud!
But when Tokichiro introduced the two young samurai following him to Asai Nagamasa, the doubts in his mind were slightly relieved.

The two samurai are brothers. The elder brother is Honda Masanobu, and the younger brother is Honda Masashige. Their father was a hawksmith, but he had great hopes for his sons. He always hoped that they would be able to stand out and be able to succeed. Become a true samurai.

So the two brothers came out from home together to make a living. They were born in the Mikawa area east of Owari. They originally planned to join the Matsudaira family nearby. Then by chance, they saw Axiu and Tokichiro fighting monsters. After that, they were killed by Tokichiro. Successfully deceived.

Although the two brothers belong to that kind of amazing talent, especially the elder brother Honda Masanobu who is even better, but after all, he has never been out of the house before, and he is far inferior to Fujikichiro, who is so smart, or treacherous, so he was quickly fooled I have to run around with him.

Moreover, Asai Nagamasa finally understood where these horses came from. They were not bought directly by Tokichiro from the Kai area, but from Hida Country northeast of Mino.

To be more precise, he was intercepted from the house of Anekoji, the nominal ruler of Hida Country.

The two brothers were also very courageous. When Tokichiro was having a headache about preparing a gift for him, the two of them provided the information they knew, and then the three of them combined and felt that this matter was feasible.

So they used their intelligence to buy these horses in a bluffing way. Even Axiu played the negative role of a masked thief because of his extremely strong martial arts skills. Otherwise, those people would not have been so simple. Sold the horse to Tokichiro.

After finishing speaking, Tokichiro repeatedly complained to Asai Nagamasa, saying that he was too eager to prepare gifts, so he had no choice but to take risks, delayed his trip, and did not come to congratulate him as soon as possible.

Asai Nagamasa just laughed and scolded the other party. He always has more tolerance towards capable people, not to mention that the other party does have his own interests in mind.

As for offending Sister Xiaolu's family, he didn't really take it to heart.

Not to mention that Hida Country is extremely poor in materials, with a total of less than [-] koku, and there are strong enemies on all sides. It is also separated from Kitanomi by Mino Country and Echizen Country.

The Hida Kingdom is also divided into four major factions: the Anokōji clan, the Ema clan, the Miki clan and the Uchijima clan. Moreover, the nominal head clan, the Anokōji clan, is currently at a disadvantage. It would be nice not to cause trouble for them. How dare you come to Kitaomi to question yourself?
After asking about the other party's ambitions, Asai Nagamasa first appointed brothers Honda Nobunobu and Honda Masashige as infantry captains, and his salary was increased to an additional thirty dan. They were temporarily under the command of Tokichiro and engaged in internal affairs together. After more achievements are made, another reward will be given.

Of course, he was not so generous because of the horses or Tokichiro's face, but after a simple exchange, he found that the two brothers were indeed very capable and had lived up to their father's expectations.

Although there is still a serious lack of experience, he speaks in an orderly manner and has his own unique insights into internal affairs. He is the internal affairs talent that the Asai family is most in need of right now.

But despite this, he shouldn't go too far until the other party has made more achievements, otherwise the other warriors in the family will inevitably be a little dissatisfied secretly, even if they don't say it on the surface.

Anyway, according to their talents, as long as they are given the opportunity and time, they will bloom their own brilliance sooner or later. When they are just starting out, they are eager to prove themselves. Since I have given them the opportunity, they will never Live up to your own expectations.

And you don’t have to worry too much about loyalty, just like Tokichiro.

Although in the parallel world known to Asai Nagamasa, Tokichiro eventually became a daimyo who commanded hundreds of thousands of troops, and even fantasized about conquering the country across the sea, Asai Nagamasa has always believed that human ambition is not there from the beginning. , and it wasn’t that big from the beginning.

When Tokichiro was at his most impoverished, running back and forth for food, did he really want to become a big name who controlled the entire Nippon?How can it be!

A person's ambition must continue to increase with his ability and status.

Therefore, Asai Nagamasa did not hesitate to use him, and even kept two equally talented internal affairs talents by his side, because he was confident enough that no matter whether Tokichiro would have such big ambitions in the future, as long as he still Now, the other party would never dare to really show it.

Being ambitious is not entirely a bad thing. It means that the other party has a stronger motivation to climb up and will be more independent in doing things.

On the other hand, Axiu, when Tokichiro returned to Otani Castle, she did not accompany him. Instead, she went to fight the monsters with her new friend, Wuming from Chuye Yazu.

This actually makes Asai Nagamasa somewhat worried about the other party, because Axiu is too naive.

Although she is probably a few years older than me, when it comes to real experience in interacting with people, she is obviously not as good as the two little girls Ning Ning and Kaga. She can easily be deceived, relying solely on her keen intuition. , I’m afraid it may not be able to avoid all crises perfectly.
But soon he no longer had any extra energy to worry about Axiu, because the Liujiao family had already summoned his army!

(End of this chapter)