Before the war began, Oda Hidenobu had a 123,000-koku Tomoyuki army centered in Gifu, and was the largest force in Mino. According to the previous agreement with Hideho, after Hideho sent troops to Aizu, he immediately mobilized within the territory. Taking advantage of the Mino daimyo accompanying the army, he quickly captured many cities in Nishi-Mino, including Imao Castle, and successfully suppressed them. He conquered the three pro-Tokugawa Nishi-Mino families, and completely gained control of the four counties of Atsumi, Katagawa, Saida, and Ikeda, and expanded his sphere of influence to Sakata County in Omi Province. Not only that, he also coerced Oda Nagataka, the lord of Nomura Castle in Ono County (son of Oda Nagamasu, grandson of Oda Nobunaga, and considered Oda Hidenobu's uncle) to hand over Nomura Castle so that he could more conveniently launch a strategy for Hachiman Castle in the county. However, Oda Hideo, the eldest son of Oda Nobuo and the lord of Echizen Ono Castle, had doubts about Oda Hidenobu's actions. On the one hand, he persuaded Oda Nagataka to refuse to open the castle, and on the other hand, he contacted Maeda Toshimasa, hoping that he could Send someone to Gifu City to find out Oda Hidenobu's true intentions. Although Hideho had informed Maeda Toshimasa before the expedition, he told him that Oda Hidenobu would attack the three Nishi-Mino daimyo to ensure the safety of the Noo Corridor. But Oda Hidenobu's current approach is obviously beyond Hideho's instructions. In view of this, Maeda Toshimasa accepted Oda Hideo's suggestion and decided to send important family officials to Gifu to find out. But it is not as good as fate. Before the retainers set out, the wars in Omi and Hokuriku broke out one after another. Maeda Toshimasa was tired of dealing with it, so he naturally forgot about the Mino incident, while Oda Hidenobu seized the opportunity. , stepped up the pressure on Oda Nagataka to open the city. Oda Nagataka originally wanted to ask Oda Hideo to guard Nomura Castle together, but the latter, at the request of Maeda Toshimasa, led the army to attack Niwa Nagamasa's Katsuyama Castle, leaving only 300 people to guard Ono Castle. Under this circumstance, Oda Nagataka had to follow the advice of his retainers and handed over Nomura Castle to Oda Hidenobu. Although Oda Hidenobu strongly invited him to participate in the attack on Gunjo Hachiman Castle, he was timid about this nephew with considerable means and prestige, and finally chose to flee Nomura Castle and go to Ono Castle to seek asylum from Oda Hideo. Oda Nagataka was neither brave nor wise, and escaping to Ono Castle seemed to be the last option. Fortunately, Oda Hidenobushi was not in Echizen and did not take the opportunity to seize Ono Castle. Instead, he targeted Hachiman Castle in the county. After removing the nail in Nomura Castle, Oda Hidenobu completely connected Nishi Mino and North America. On the eighth day of April, he personally led an army of 10,000 people from Gifu Castle and marched along the streets of Mino towards Gunjo Hachiman Castle. Advance. Inaba Sadachi, the lord of Yawata Castle, was not willing to sit still and wait for death. On the one hand, he mobilized within his territory and recruited 1,500 people to cage the castle. On the other hand, he sent people to Iwamura Castle in Higashi Mino and asked Mori Tamasa to send people immediately. Come to support. On the tenth day of April, Mori Tadamasa dispatched Lao Lin Weizhong and led a force of 1,200 troops to attack Torimine Castle on the east side of Gifu Castle, intending to force Oda Hidenobu to return to the army. Unexpectedly, at the same time that Oda Hidenobu received the news, Naegijo Castle and Kawajiri Hidenaga's younger brother Kawajiri Jinyuki led 300 troops from the road and launched an ambush before the Mori army was about to arrive at Nakasendo. After taking over Lin Weizhong and many other important ministers of the Mori clan, the Mori army was in chaos and retreated to Iwamura City in defeat. Although the Kawajiri Army also lost more than a hundred people, this battle was very worthwhile. On the one hand, it damaged the morale of the Mori Army and made them no longer dare to take the initiative until the end of the war. On the other hand, it directly cut off the rice supply. Ye Zhentong's thoughts accelerated his pace of Kaicheng surrender. Sure enough, on April 17, just as the Maeda army captured Matsuno Castle, Inaba Sadamichi, the relic of the Oda clan, finally chose to surrender to Kaicheng under the persuasion of his retainers and the despair of being isolated and helpless. Oda Hidenobu completed his first stage goal. After a few days of rest, he pointed his troops at Mori Tadamasa of Iwamura Castle. After previous defeats, Mori Tadamasa did not dare to act rashly. With the invasion of Nabeshima Naoshima and other pro-Hideyasu daimyo into the northern, Ogaki, Tarui and other southwestern Mino castles, and the defection of Inaba Sadachi, the people close to Ieyasu in Mino were He was the only daimyo left, and the situation was already very serious for him. On April 22, Oda Hidenobu led his troops to Iwamura Castle. With the support of Kawajiri Zhenxing, he began a fierce attack on Iwamura Castle. Facing such an Oda army with continuous victories and high morale, Mori Tamasa was horrified. As a former minister of the Oda clan, is it the right choice to go head-to-head with Nobunaga's successor and fight to the death? Just when Mori Tadamasa was hesitating, the news that Niwa Nagashige was defeated and surrendered and Maeda Toshimasa defeated Echizen and Kaga reached the ears of Oda Hidenobu. Hidenobu was overjoyed and immediately ordered someone to write down the battle situation in Hokuriku on paper and project it. Arrive at Iwamura Castle, and at the same time, arrange for men to take turns shouting into the city, asking the Mori Army to surrender as soon as possible in order to maximize Hideho's forgiveness. On April 24, the morning when the Tokugawa Army Hibara was defeated, Oda Hidenobu's Oda Army captured the Ninomaru of Iwamura Castle and destroyed the city.?It's just a matter of time. Late that night, the Mori clan's retainers, who did not want to sit still and wait for death, together with the Toyotomi clan's former ministers who had earlier served as officials for the Mori clan, sneaked into Mori Tamasa's dormitory when he was not paying attention, and forced him to order the opening of the city. But Tadamasa Mori understands that for this series of wars in Meinong, it is always necessary to find a mastermind to convict. Even if he surrendered to Oda Hidenobu, it did not mean that he would be able to escape punishment, especially when he had taken the initiative to attack Oda Hidenobu. Even if he surrenders now, he will be the slowest among all the daimyo to surrender. Therefore, Tadamasa Mori felt that it was impossible for him to protect himself, and that becoming a monk and being cautious might just be extravagant hopes. At this moment, all he could do was find a way out for his family. Thinking of this, Mori Zhongzheng called Lin Weizhong's eldest son Lin Xiuzhong in front of him and said sincerely: "The matter is now over, and I have no other request. I just hope that this matter will not spread too widely, and that it will not hurt the family members as much as possible." Lin Xiuzhong The original intention was just to force Mori Tadamasa to surrender to Kaicheng, but I never expected that he would say such a thing, and for a moment he didn't know how to answer. However, several old ministers of Oda had always been dissatisfied with Tadamasa Mori and took this opportunity to vent it out. They carefully analyzed the positional relationship between the Mori family and Hidenobu Oda and the pros and cons of surrender to Tadamasa Mori, and told him that he had one night. consider. "We are not afraid of death, let alone that our lord will do something to us during the day. If we are really afraid of anything, it is that I am afraid that Lord Nobunaga's wisdom will be insulted by our ungratefulness. I am afraid that after the city is broken, the people will be covered in dust and their lives will be in ruins. The Battle of Hokuriku The matter is over, Prime Minister Xiaosong can serve as a warning to my lord," Lin Xiuzhong and others said righteously before leaving the dormitory.