Chapter 57 Onimaruyama Castle
Forced by the situation and feeling insecure, Yan Xu sped up the construction of the mountain city, even using his precious gold reserves. As a result, Guiwan Mountain changed almost every day, and it took a short time to take shape. So he personally went to Guiwan Mountain to inspect the situation and see if the conditions for relocation were met.

The mountain shrine at the foot of the mountain, which was originally a bit simple, has now become quite presentable. Passers-by often come to worship, and the atmosphere has become more popular. Because they occasionally provide food to travelers in need, they have a good reputation.

As a result, it was no longer possible to operate the shrine in a crude manner, so a shrine maiden brought by Moriya was put in charge of the shrine.

Because the red ghost has a big appetite and is carefree, in addition to the priestess, there are two women who are responsible for cooking and cleaning. This means that the priestess, who originally thought that she would have to do everything by herself in a new place, only needs to sit and wait for meals, and she immediately feels happy.

With few troubles and good treatment, the witch's complexion has improved a lot in just a few days. Her life is so happy that when she saw the big money man coming, she hurriedly pulled up her clothes to greet him. After all, her food is comparable to that of the mountain god, and the food and drink expenses of the mountain god all come from the person in front of her.

"Hi, sir." The witch bowed respectfully.

"Where did the Red Ghost go?" Yan Xu asked curiously as he did not see the Red Ghost's conspicuous figure.

After the mountain shrine had a shrine maiden, the red demon, who was the object of worship, had nothing to do but eat and drink on weekdays. However, she had nowhere to go, so she seldom left.

"The mountain god said he was bored, so he went to Wild Boar Mountain to hunt." The witch knew about the relationship between the mountain god and the sponsor. Although she was shocked by the sponsor's toughness, it did not delay her from fulfilling her duties, so she answered immediately.

Yan Xu nodded after listening to this. Hong Gui was the gate guard of Guiwan City that he had reserved, and he couldn't let her run away.

Besides, he was indeed envious of this foreign woman, but unfortunately he was powerless to make further progress. With her physique, he would probably have to use all his strength to withstand that pair of 1.3-meter-long legs. However, half an incense stick of time was too short, so he needed to keep working hard.

After asking someone to leave the things they brought behind, Yan Xu walked up the slightly narrow mountain path after receiving many thanks from the witch.

Because Mount Guiwan is shaped like gold and jade, the mountain walls on both sides are full and steep, making it difficult for ordinary people to climb. And even if they climb up, it is useless. A circle of stone walls is built on the top of the two hills, just like a circle of lace on two iron gallbladders. It is not easy for a flamboyant person to jump up.

What's more, there are crossbowmen patrolling the stone walls day and night. The lantern plus the mirror serves as a searchlight, and any movement will be targeted with concentrated fire. In addition, there is no cover after the vegetation has been cleared, so even a ninja would find it difficult to sneak up, and there are many traps hidden there.

It is even more difficult to attack along the path because Yan Xu built a Sanshan Pass at the end of the path, which is between two hills. On the left and right are three-story stone towers like artillery towers. There are shooting holes on the second and third floors, and the top floor can serve as a lookout tower. Cross-shooting is enough to cover a large area.

Just thinking about the Japanese soldiers holding bamboo spears and rushing upwards under the illumination of lanterns and searchlights, against the fire coverage of the stone towers on both sides, Yan Xu felt inexplicably happy. He decided to teach these Japanese soldiers a lesson.

In fact, even if the Japanese really rushed up, it would be useless. Between the two stone towers is the city gate. Although it is not wide, it is extremely tall and integrated with the cliffs on both sides. The iron-clad gate is even more solid. There is no way to break it without siege equipment.

The problem is what kind of siege equipment can be moved here. Even siege wood is difficult to be effective on the narrow mountain path.

Besides, there is no need for anything else. As long as there are enough Molotov cocktails, no one can rush up. It can be said that Guiwan Mountain has maxed out its defensive attributes. Passing through the gate of Chengmenguan, there is a straight golden peak in front and jade hills on the left and right. It has to be said that it is very vivid. Anyone who sees it will give a thumbs up and say that this place is full of yang energy.

Yan Xu divided the left and right areas into the waterfall area and the hot spring area. After the water was diverted to the waterfall area, there was sufficient water and it could be used as a barracks that could accommodate three to five hundred people, while the hot spring area was naturally where he lived.

Unfortunately, there is only a group of tents in the waterfall area now, and there is only a lonely three-story castle tower in the hot spring area. Other buildings need to be built slowly in the future, but there is no problem moving in.

Now that the decision had been made, Yan Xu no longer delayed and moved to the castle tower promptly. The foot soldiers and hatamoto recruited by the system also followed, and the ninjas from the Forest Ninja secretly deployed defenses, and he immediately felt safe.

The newly built castle tower is cleaner and tidier, and the brand new tatami gives off a unique fresh smell. Yan Xu walked barefoot inside and felt it was pretty good, but he just didn't like the style.

As a military building, the castle tower is not as fragile as imagined. The bottom floor is raised with earth and stones, which serves as a city wall. It also covers the underground structure where food and weapons can be stored and wells are installed. Therefore, once the outer city is lost, the castle tower can be used to hold out for a long time.

On the stone foundation as high as a city wall is an important building with thick stone walls and shooting holes. Inside is a U-shaped corridor to facilitate the movement of soldiers and defense. The hall in the middle is where the daimyo and his retainers hold meetings.

The second floor is mainly the living area of ​​the daimyo, but it also has some defensive functions. For example, it is surrounded by semi-open terrace corridors instead of closed corridors. The fence can serve as a parapet, and soldiers can stand here to shoot enemies surrounding the castle tower.

Compared with the first and second floors, the third floor is much smaller. You can open the door to ventilate from all sides, and you can climb up and see far away, making it convenient to observe the situation in the distance.

Generally speaking, the castle tower is just a small fortress. As long as there are enough defenders inside and no heavy equipment, it will cost blood to capture it. Yan Xu was quite satisfied with this and arranged for the hatamoto to live in the castle tower to guard it day and night.

Arriving at the third floor of the castle tower, he opened all the doors on all sides and felt the mountain breeze. Feeling refreshed, Yan Xu took out his telescope and discovered that he could actually see Inagaya Village and Mori Village directly, and the foot of the mountain was in full view. He nodded with satisfaction and decided to send people to take turns to look out.

"It's just a little cold." After the novelty wore off, Yan Xu didn't want to stay up there and blow the cold wind any longer. He just remembered that he hadn't taken a formal bath in the hot springs here yet, and he usually just rinsed with hot water. So he couldn't bear it any longer, and walked out of the castle tower with his change of clothes, and went to the hot spring area under the protection of the hatamoto.

As the weather gets colder, water vapor rises in the hot spring area, making the air much more humid, and a distinct smell of sulfur can be smelled.

It’s not that Yan Xu has never been to a hot spring, but the ones he has been to are all boiler hot springs, which occasionally have hot spring additives but don’t have this smell, so he is somewhat not used to it.

However, the temperature here is higher, and the humid water vapor makes people feel comfortable. The environment is also good, so Yan Xu slowly relaxed.

(End of this chapter)