Chapter 1299 A Group of Traitors Appeared in Your Tribe!
The July sun shines on the snow-capped peak of Mt. Yotei, flashing a bright glow. Looking from the foot of the mountain, this nearly 2,000-meter-high white volcano standing in the southern part of Ezo looks like the Mount Fuji of the North, so it is also called "Mount Fuji of Ezo" by the Japanese people in awe.
"Mount Fuji of Ezo is really a magical mountain, inhabited by the ancient mountain spirits of the North! The Ezo people call it "O-Gake" and the nearby Shiribetsu-Gake is called "Me-Gake". The two mountains, one male and one female, are like the ancient gods who protect them in the legend of the Ezo people, dividing the vast Ezo into two, making it impossible for us to cross the border..."
A Japanese camp stands at the foot of Mt. Yotei. The scale of this camp is actually not large, but the site selection is very particular, with the back of the mountain and the water facing it. The south of the camp is very easy to defend because of the high mountains; the north is the Shiribetsu River that flows diagonally to the west, blocking the enemy's attack from the south; the east is a river valley that is conducive to cavalry galloping, connected to the gentler eastern slope, which is convenient for cavalry to go around to the right side and attack...
From this simple camp, it can be clearly seen that the Japanese generals have rich military experience and are obviously old-timers.
At this moment, the thirty-year-old Kakizaki Yoshihiro, wearing an iron armored domaru that symbolizes the status of the commander-in-chief, stood at a high place behind the camp, looking up at the snow-capped top of "Ezo Fuji". Around him are a dozen Kakizaki retainers who are also wearing domaru, and an old general wearing a light domaru. They look at both the snow-white volcano and the young Yoshihiro, and their expressions are relatively relaxed.
Well, the heavy armor is not suitable for the vast Ezo land in the north, and the Kakizaki family is relatively poor and does not have two armors. Besides, the Domaru is enough to deal with the Ainu tribe who can't even get leather armor, and it is also convenient to quickly pursue after defeating the enemy...
"May the great Bodhisattva Hachiman bless you! May the ancient mountain spirit bless you! May He bless my father and restore his health, and live as long as the mountains..."
Yoshihiro Kakizaki looked up for a moment, prayed softly, and then turned to look at the old general beside him and asked with emotion.
"Kudo Family Elder, tell me, why can't we grow rice after crossing this volcano? All the Japanese villages can only be built on the south side of Mount Fuji in Ezo. None of the Twelve Halls of Southern Taiwan can cross this line, this dividing line drawn by the gods!..."
"So, even if we defeat the Ezo people in the north again and again, and collect tributes and property from them again and again... we can't really occupy these northern territories!... Could it be that the guardian gods mentioned by the Ezo people really exist? Are they living on this magical mountain, watching us?..."
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Faced with the young master's question, the veteran Kudo Shigeyasu was silent for a while, as if thinking about how to answer. The surrounding Kakizaki warriors all bowed their heads slightly, and their expressions became serious. Obviously, the prestige of this gray-haired "Kudo Family Elder" in the army is far higher than that of the young Kakizaki Yoshihiro.
After a long while, the old general Kudo Shigeyasu shook his head and answered in a solemn voice.
"Young Master Yoshihiro, the affairs of the gods belong to the monks and priests. I can't answer your question. I only know about war... When the army is on the expedition, even if it is to collect tribute from the Ainu people, it must be treated as a real war! So, please don't say anything that is not conducive to the morale of the army. The warriors cannot be disturbed by the possible existence of gods. They must firmly believe in their own strength and bravery to be strong and brave on the battlefield!"
"Hmm..."
Hearing this admonition with implicit reprimand, Yoshihiro Kakizaki was stunned, looking at the serious family elder, and couldn't help laughing.
This time, they only came to collect tribute from the Ainu tribe, not to fight to the death. And the military force dispatched by the Kakizaki clan also completely crushed these weak Ainu tribes. Not to mention the warriors of the four hundred tribal allies, the two hundred Kakizaki warriors, half of whom were armored warriors wearing domaru, plus ten horseback warriors shooting arrows, were enough to easily defeat the Kitayu Hanbin tribe of hundreds of warriors in a frontal field battle!
However, even with such an advantage, the veteran Kudo Shigeyasu was still cautious and carefully surveyed the surrounding terrain. He also built the camp in such a location that was easy to defend but difficult to attack, but not very convenient for getting water and cutting wood. Kakizaki Yoshihiro had experienced too few battles and therefore did not take this kind of constant caution seriously. But out of respect for the oldest family elder, he still bowed his head slightly and apologized to the other party.
"Kudo family elder, you are right! I should not be arrogant and confused, and be deceived by the evil spirit myths of the Ainu people... May the Buddha grant me clarity, and may you remain awake forever, to assist me in completing my father's mission and bringing back the tribute from the north that the Kakizaki clan urgently needs!"
"Young Master Yoshihiro, I will definitely assist you and successfully complete this expedition!"
The veteran Kudo Shigeyasu lowered his head and bowed seriously in return. The surrounding samurai retainers also followed and saluted the young master Kakizaki Yoshihiro. From this spontaneous act of following, we can see the status of the veteran Kudo Shigeyasu and his prestige in the Kakizaki clan's army!
In fact, Kudo Shigeyasu's real name is Kudo Jiulang, and his seniority is so deep that he ranks first among the retainers of the Kakizaki clan. He was one of the five Langdang who followed Takeda Nobuhiro when he fled from the Wakasa Takeda clan forty years ago. During these forty years, he followed the head of the family all the way from the Wakasa Takeda clan to the Kofu of Furukawa, then to the Ando clan and the Nanbu clan, and finally came to Ezo to fight, participating in almost every battle and fight!
Now, the sixty-year-old Kudo Shigeyasu, as the youngest and only living member of Wakasa Goro's party, can be said to be the family elder with the richest military experience and the most reliable loyalty. This time, Takeda Nobuhiro nominally appointed his legitimate son Yoshihiro as the commander-in-chief of the army, but the real person in charge of specific military affairs was this white-haired old general who served as the deputy commander.
"The elder of the Kudo family is the pillar of the family and the real military commander of the tribute team!... And the head of the family asked this old man to lead the army, which was really cautious to the extreme, and also paved the way for the succession of the young master, and did it to the extreme!..."
Looking at the two commanders, one with white hair and the other with black hair, bowing to each other, the retainers who served as low-level commanders couldn't help but sigh in their hearts.
This time, the Kakizaki clan mobilized two hundred samurai, brought one hundred sets of domaru armor, and even brought ten cavalrymen to the north to collect tribute! This was almost the deployment of all the reliable direct lineage under Katsuyama Hall, and they were armed to the extreme, which was the limit of the military strength of the Kakizaki clan. In fact, if it were not for the large amount of military supplies and goods that the big merchant Morino Kiyoshi had continuously transported in the past two years, with the financial resources of the Kakizaki clan, these 100 sets of Domaru armor would never be gathered!
And the reason why the Kakizaki clan tried their best and came out in full force was not only to obtain the goods of the Ainu people to hand over to Morino Kiyoshi's caravan and pay off the huge debts owed... but also to let the young master Kakizaki Yoshi suppress the Ainu tribe through the extensive crusade while Takeda Nobuhiro was still alive and able to suppress the internal and external forces, establish military achievements, and establish prestige among the Japanese Donan Jubin and the Ishikari allies!
In other words, this is all to pave the way for Yoshihiro Kakizaki to ascend to the throne, to inherit the power of the Kakizaki clan's head and rule over the Twelve Halls of Southern Hokkaido... And there is only one reason why the Kakizaki clan is so ostentatious and impatient... That is Takeda Nobuhiro, the "evil eagle of the south" who has been feared by the Ainu tribes for forty years, is really going to die soon! ...
Under Mount Fuji in Ezo, the camp of the people is neat and tight, reflecting the white snow top and the iron color of the domaru. As for the camp of the Ishikari clans, it is two miles away, a loose and messy land, built on the riverside where it is easy to get water and flatter.
On the river bank, two scouts of the Ishikari tribe were hurriedly crossing the river and rushing to the clan camp. Then, the originally loose camp suddenly became noisy like a boiling stone pot. A great chieftain of the Ishikari tribe, personally led several warriors, and hurried to the hill camp of the allied people, bringing a shocking news that he had just received.
"The guardian power of the black bear! The despicable Beiyu Hanbin tribe, on the surface, bowed their heads and knelt on the ground, saying that they would surrender and pay tribute, but in fact they have been delaying. They said that they would take time to prepare tribute, but they secretly made tricks and prepared to fight with us!..."
"The power of the ancestors witnessed! They asked for reinforcements from the Beiyu Hanzawa tribe in the north! Our scouts saw a large number of tribal boats on the seashore of the northern Ishikari territory, all loaded with Beiyu clan warriors, coming south like a school of salmon! And taking into account the time of the scout's report, at this moment, their reinforcements must have We have already reached the Beiyu Hanbin tribe! The Hanbin tribe’s stronghold was already well-fortified and difficult to attack. Now there are so many tribal reinforcements. How can we defeat them? What makes me even more angry and trembling is that it is unbelievable…”
“Among these reinforcements, there are actually three large ships! Three large ships that only your Heren tribe has, with a total of four or five small boats, all loaded with armored Heren warriors! …Damn it! The young chief of the Kakizaki clan! A group of traitors appeared in your Heren tribe and colluded with the Beiyu tribe! ! …”
I checked some information and updated it a little late. Sorry!