Chapter 79

In the afternoon, the fine rain continued to fall. The thin streams of water, following the terrain, formed several small puddles in the moat of Furai Castle. The few strands of blood floating on the surface of the puddles indicated that a fierce battle had taken place here.

Chongliang Jizong, who had rushed back, saw that it was too late; Furai Castle had already fallen into the hands of Wada Taikou. He immediately ordered a strong attack on the castle. The Wada family troops, hastily preparing for battle, were not willing to show weakness. Under the leadership of Wada Taikou, they used the terrain to their advantage, striking the Chongliang family troops from a higher position. As the saying goes, "People die for wealth, birds die for food." After much effort, the peasant soldiers had plundered a large amount of wealth from the castle, and they would not easily give it up.

After two strong attacks, resulting in dozens of soldiers being injured, Chongliang Jizong had to pause the offensive. After a morning of rushing, everyone was already exhausted. Continuing the strong attack would only increase the casualties of his own family. Chongliang Jizong arranged for everyone to prepare food while he personally led a team to cut down trees nearby. The walls of Furai Castle were merely made of wood and mud. Using trees to concentrate and ram at one point, they would eventually break through the wall.

At the same time, in the camp on the border of the Luo family's territory near Fujihira Castle, Masahiro and his retainers were holding an emergency meeting.

"According to the information sent by Tashiro Castle's Kousuke, the Chongliang family suddenly returned to their border, and it is likely that the Wada family is already attacking Furai Castle," Masahiro said calmly. "About half an hour after Wada Taikou left the territory, Heizō Tarō led 100 hastily gathered peasant soldiers to occupy the Wada family's territory."

"Congratulations, Your Highness," the people in the tent congratulated him.

"Your Highness, based on the distance, the Chongliang family troops should have returned to Furai Castle. They are likely in conflict with the Wada family," said Ogasawara Kuniyoshi.

"Yes, that's probably the case. Due to the border being sealed, the situation there cannot be transmitted in time," Masahiro responded. "Ichinō, how is the matter progressing?"

"Your Highness, as per your instructions, dozens of ashigaru have been shouting outside the Chongliang family's border camp that the Chongliang family's town is under attack by the Wada family. This has already caused their morale to waver," Ichinō reported immediately upon seeing Masahiro look at him. "At the same time, several scouts have already infiltrated the territories of various families, closely monitoring the movements of the local strongmen."

"Good. The time has come to establish merit and expand our territory. Although we cannot confirm the current situation, our family has the protection of the Great Bodhisattva Hachiman, and we will surely win," Masahiro stood up with a "whoosh." "Everyone, immediately gather our troops and head towards the Chongliang family's Furai Castle."

"Yes, Your Highness," Ogasawara Kuniyoshi and Ichinō bowed in acknowledgment.

The 40 Luo family's cape-wearing soldiers and 100 ashigaru, already prepared, slowly advanced towards the Chongliang family's checkpoint under the leadership of Ogasawara Kuniyoshi.

When the dozen or so peasant soldiers at the Chongliang family's checkpoint saw a large group of people approaching, they immediately shouted and scattered, most fleeing into the nearby forests, while a few ran to the distant camp to report, where about 90 peasant soldiers were still stationed.

Why did most of the peasant soldiers at the checkpoint not return to the camp? The reason was that the camp was already in chaos. These peasant soldiers were mostly forcibly gathered by the Chongliang family and required to stay here for several days, not allowed to leave or return to their fields to work. This demand had long caused the peasant soldiers to grumble, as this was the critical time for weeding and fertilizing their fields. Missing this period could lead to a reduction in crop yields, and with the same amount of agricultural tax, it would mean not having enough food to get their families through the winter. Additionally, this morning, the people outside the checkpoint had been shouting that the Wada family had invaded the territory and was looting everywhere. The families of these peasant soldiers lived in unprotected towns, making them the easiest targets for looting. Thus, the camp was filled with anxiety. If not for the strong suppression by the Chongliang family's samurai, they would have already fled home.

But a few moments ago, someone came to the camp to report that they had personally witnessed the Wada family troops rushing towards Furai Castle, and everyone was in an uproar, especially those whose families lived in the town below Furai Castle, who demanded to return to defend the castle. The samurai in charge of the defense immediately drew his yari and shouted, "You peasants, do you want to die? Lord Chongliang will surely kill you if he finds out." The peasant soldiers, accustomed to submission, immediately retreated.

"No, I can't. My wife is at home. If the Wada family's men break in, it will be dangerous. No, I have to go back," someone in the crowd shouted, immediately resonating with the others, who glared angrily at the samurai.

"You... you... what do you want to do?" Feeling the murderous gazes of the crowd, the samurai took a few steps back and nervously said, "Aren't you afraid of Lord Chongliang...?" Before he could finish, a series of shouts came from outside.

"Run, they're attacking, they're attacking!" "Ah, Lord Chongliang has been defeated, run!" The camp was filled with shouts.

"Run, don't be afraid of him, run!" Someone in the crowd shouted again. The peasant soldiers immediately rushed out of the tent.

"Who dares?" The samurai swung his yari, and a peasant soldier passing by immediately screamed and fell to the ground.

"Kill him, kill him!" More shouts came from the crowd, and several spears were thrown at the samurai like javelins. The crowd had gone completely mad, and various weapons were hurled at the samurai. The poor samurai was instantly turned into a pincushion.

"What are you waiting for, run!" The voice that had been shouting for everyone to run and attack the samurai sounded again. The peasant soldiers, who had been in a panic after killing the samurai, immediately shouted and rushed out of the camp, led by a few people, running towards Furai Castle. In fact, in times of crisis, many people have a herd mentality. Seeing someone leading the way, others immediately followed in the same direction, and soon almost everyone was part of this large group.

At this moment, Masahiro, protected by several cape-wearing soldiers, had just passed through the Chongliang family's checkpoint and saw a group of people fleeing towards Furai Castle in the distance.

"Your Highness, as per your instructions, our scouts have incited a rebellion among the Chongliang family's troops and are now leading those peasant soldiers to attack the Chongliang family's camp below Furai Castle," Ichinō quickly came to Masahiro and knelt, his voice filled with admiration. "As you predicted, Furai Castle has already been taken by the Wada family, and the Chongliang family is engaged in a siege battle." In fact, the people shouting in the Chongliang family's camp and outside were all scouts from the Luo family, who had secretly infiltrated the Chongliang family's territory two days ago on Masahiro's orders. The strategy was simply outlined by Masahiro before they left. Of course, credit must be given to these scouts for executing the plan so perfectly.

"Good, hahaha," Masahiro did not expect things to go so smoothly. "Immediately follow those peasant soldiers, don't let them scatter, and drive them towards the Chongliang family's camp below Furai Castle. Ichinō, according to the plan, continue to spread the rumor that the Chongliang family's lord has been defeated and Furai Castle has been captured among the Chongliang family's peasant soldiers and in their territory."

"Yes, Your Highness," Ogasawara Kuniyoshi and Ichinō immediately acknowledged.

(PS: Working during the day and writing at night, maintaining two updates a day, it's really tiring. Everyone, please recommend and collect to comfort me! The new book has been released for a month, already A-signed, and has been updated with over 200,000 words, with no plans to stop, at least 1.5 million words. Running naked for two weeks, ranking on the Sanjiang Potential List in the third week, on the New Book Recommendation List in the fourth week, and on the Historical Category Strong Recommendation List this week. Next week, it will be on the Historical Category New Book Selection List. Everyone, don't leave after reading, even if you don't have votes, put it on your bookshelf. I beg you, my goal is to write over 1.5 million words, even if it means a spectacular failure. Enjoy writing, enjoy solitude. There is a discussion group on the homepage, welcome to join!)

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