On the 17th day of the ninth month of the third year of Tensho, Gao from Hizen Province in Saikaido came to Hinoe Castle in the prefecture.
The brutal siege temporarily came to an end as night fell. Countless corpses were scattered inside and outside the city walls. Stiff torsos were entangled with each other. Duan's arms were scattered everywhere. The ruins of the collapsed walls and the unburned black smoke billowed straight into the sky. It was announced that the Date Army had achieved a staged victory.
The air was filled with a disgusting smell, and the staggering steps of cleaning the battlefield were sweeping back and forth. The infantry dragged the corpses, separated the comrades from the enemy, pieced together the bodies of the dead comrades, and placed them in the newly built Placed in the curtain, the white curtain is solemn and solemn.
According to the regulations, the war dead will be properly handled. The war dead will be cremated on the spot. The cremated ashes will be put into an urn and handed over to the parents and relatives of the comrades in a cloth bag hung on the chest by the companions, and then unified. It is placed in the Protector's Shrine and is worshiped by people all over the world every year. It is worshiped every month and shares the fate of the country and becomes the god of protector.
Of course, the enemy's corpses were not treated that well. If they were deducted, they were pushed to deep pits dug by the prisoners and buried collectively, becoming one hundred people's graves after another. Yes, it is not the legendary mass graves. One has to be dug. Mass graves are a large and thankless project. September has not yet passed midsummer, and it is still very hot. Failure to bury them quickly can easily lead to plague.
The most taboo thing when going out to fight is epidemic disease. The Date family has an effective way of handling marching operations. Strict implementation of these regulations is one of the reasons why the Date family was able to stand out in the Warring States Period when all heroes came together.
Katayama Hironaga did not enter the city. Although the outer city of Hinoe City had been raided, as a general he naturally had to stay out of danger to handle military affairs. He sat on a mound only a few miles away from Hinoe City and watched. Looking at Hinoe Castle, his face flickered under the swaying flames, holding the famous Bizen sword in his hand. He saw Iga Kutaka coming and asked: "Iga Mamoru, have the battlefield statistics been calculated?"
Today¡¯s battle, Iga Kutaka no longer dares to look down on Katayama Masunaga because he is young. He is worthy of being the son of Tsuruga¡¯s famous general Katayama Morinaga. A tiger father has no dog son. He never thought that Katayama Hironaga would be so cruel and ruthless in his decisions on the battlefield at such a young age. He would be cruel to the enemy and even more cruel to himself. After hearing Katayama Hironaga's question, he quickly said respectfully: "The statistics have been calculated. Two hundred and fifty of our troops were killed in the battle." Seven people, 323 injured. The enemy has lost 700, injured 800, and died 700. The outer city has fallen, and now there are still about a thousand people trapped in the inner city still fighting."
Katayama Hironaga looked indifferent and said: "The war dead are dealt with according to the regulations, and the injured are treated by military doctors. What else is there?"
Iga Jiulong hesitated for a moment, raised his head and asked again: "I don't know how to deal with it next. There are about a thousand people in the inner city. If we follow the method of the outer city, the casualties will be doubled."
Katayama Hironaga glanced at Iga Hisataka and asked, "What do you think?"
Being stared at by Katayama Hironaga, Iga Kutaka seemed to feel that he was being stared at by a hungry wolf. He did not dare to look directly and replied: "Sir, the Arima family is a trapped beast. If you are too forced, I am afraid that I will fight to the end."
Katayama Hironaga took a deep look at Iga Kutaka and said: "It has been hundreds of years since the Arima clan came to Takarai County, and Arima Seuchun and his disciples are now in the inner city. Do you think they will join forces to seduce the new lord?" .¡±
Katayama Hironaga clearly told Iga Kutaka that if Iga Kutaka wanted to move out of Bizen Country and come to Hizen Country to expand territory, then the Arima clan's territory would most likely become his new territory. Gaolai County has a small territory and very limited resources. Along the way, the land is not fertile. It mainly relies on commerce to make up for its finances. If the Arima family members are retained, the retainers who moved from their hometown with Iga Kutaka will not be able to allocate enough. For land, he could only rely on the Arima clan. In this way, the descendants of the Iga family will complain about him. Will the Arima family be grateful to him? Not necessarily, you must know that he is an invader, an outsider who invades the Arima clan. When the time comes, he will not be a human being inside and outside.
Katayama Hironaga handed over the power to dispose of the inner city of Hinoe Castle to Iga Kutaka. Will Iga Kutaka be merciful and let go of Arima Qingjun and his children? Not necessarily. The first thing Iga Kutaka needs to understand is whose support his power comes from. The first thing he needs to understand is that he is an outsider, so he must get the support of his original ministers before he can gain a firm foothold.
Iga Hisataka originally only thought about the surface. He thought that he was likely to become the new lord of Gaolai County, and he should use gentle methods to leave a good influence on everyone, and then be loyal to him. He forgot that he was here to share the food, and that he was not coming alone. He was bringing a large family with him. There were more than twenty branches of the Iga clan alone, numbering four to five hundred people, as well as those The family members who had been with the Iga clan for decades and hundreds of years, totaling no less than one to two thousand men, women, old and young. To arrange for so many people, where else could they be collected if not from the head of the original lord.
Katayama Hironaga stood tall, could see far, and had a far-sighted vision. While Iga Kutaka was still making his own calculations and thinking about the small profits, he had already seen the future. In comparison, Iga Jiulong had to admire that his realm and vision were not on the same level, it was too far behind. Thinking about it now, he was really naive, and he would not take advantage of Katayama Hironaga's body to take charge of the Arima clan.
Iga Jiutong was convinced.
Katayama Hironaga grinned and said: "Just because we don't deliver a letter of surrender doesn't mean we have to risk heavy casualties to storm the inner city. Bronze cannons are heavy and difficult to move, but slingshots can."
The inner city.
Arima Yoshitsune looked at the busy outer city. Under the bright moonlight, he could see that huge wooden beams were being carried and huge catapults were being built. The outer city was only a hundred steps away from the inner city. There is a mountain ridge and two city walls in the middle, and the inner city is within the range of the catapult. It is estimated that at daybreak, the slings will bring despair to the defenders of the inner city.
"It's already three o'clock in the morning. I guess they will come up as soon as it gets light. I wonder if the elder brother has any clever ideas." The hoarse voice of Qian Qianshi Nao came from behind Arima Yoshinao. Arima Yoshinao looked back. , I saw that his eyes were bloodshot and his lips were chapped. He seemed to be ten years older. He still had his usual suave appearance. Sensenki Naoman regrets that he should not have rescued his father, Arima Harujun, and regrets that he did not abandon the city before the Date army attacked the city.
Arima Yoshitsune replied with a forced smile: "Is there any clever plan? The only way is to fight to the death?"