Chapter 69 Helpless Temptation

Yan Xu was woken up after just a short nap. His head felt a little heavy and he felt better after washing his face.

That’s because we are young now, otherwise I would feel drowsy and lack energy all day long.

Because the Otomo family had just started a fire to cook and prepare military equipment, there was still time. After washing up, Yan Xu began to enjoy his hearty breakfast. The soldiers and civilians in the city were also taking turns to eat. Judging from the expectant faces, the standard of food today would be much better than before.

The meals for the Ashigaru and Hatamoto consisted of two large brown rice balls per person, and broth made from canned food mixed with radishes.

Although the materials used in canned food make modern people feel terrified and want to kill the manufacturers, in ancient times, heavy oil and salt were considered good things, not to mention that they contained oil and meat, which people only ate a few times in their lifetime, so they would not be picky about food safety issues.

Even if a lot of radishes were added to the boiling pot, there was still a thick layer of fat floating on the boiling soup. Regardless of whether it was cockscomb oil or not, the aroma was so overbearing that the foot soldiers waiting in line with aluminum lunch boxes couldn't help but swallow their saliva.

The farmers from the two villages were also eating. Although the food was not that good, the solid cornmeal steamed bread was enough to fill their stomachs. Not to mention that although the oil in their soup was not that rich, it still provided a lot of calories, which made them no longer so afraid of the upcoming war. They even secretly hoped that the war could last longer so that they could eat more of such food.

The soldiers recruited by the system are all like this, and the local indigenous ronin and wandering samurai are not much better.

There is not much difference between ronin and wandering samurai. They are both homeless and hungry. It is only after they come to the Moroboshi family that they can have a full meal, but it is just a full meal. If they want to eat such rich food, it is estimated that they can only get it when the war breaks out. This not only boosts their morale, but also makes them full of desire for war and victory.

After eating and drinking, Yan Xu went to the third floor of the castle tower. He used a telescope to observe the Otomo family's camp, gathering intelligence and learning experience while also avoiding dangerous places.

The telescope in Yan Xu's hand is said to be an astronomical telescope, but it is actually a generic brand, not a professional astronomical telescope. Therefore, the image is not inverted and the viewing angle is not that small. It is definitely not convenient for stargazing, but it is much better than ordinary handheld binoculars for looking into the distance. Therefore, even if the distance is not close, every blade of grass and every tree in the camp is right in front of you.

Because the fleet needed to carry enough soldiers and weapons, the supplies transported by the Otomo family this time were not very sufficient.

However, in order to boost morale, Otomo Munemori still had people cook enough rice to make rice balls so that each foot soldier could get two and each samurai could get four.

But this is the amount for one day, and there is no side dish. I guess I will have to wait until the evening to have a bowl of soup made of something unknown, and if I'm lucky, I will have rice soaked in tea.

In any case, the Otomo soldiers, who were already accustomed to war, began to prepare for the siege after barely filling their stomachs.

The army came all the way to the foot of Mount Onimaru. Even though they had received the intelligence, seeing it with their own eyes was another matter. In any case, the terrain of the mountain made Otomo Munemori's eyelids twitch.

Although the news of the annihilation of the Ueno ninja team did not spread, no news was already the worst news. Otomo Munemori knew very well the fate of this ninja team.

Although it was a pity, things had come to this point and the battle had to be fought, even though he could no longer turn back.

As the leader of the war faction, Otomo Munemori could be violent, bloodthirsty, and even kill innocent people indiscriminately, but he would never allow himself to retreat.

So even though he knows that the possibility of failure is very high, he can't just turn around and leave without fighting, because doing so will ruin his image.

Once his character collapses, Otomo Munemori's previous reputation will become the biggest joke.

What's more, Otomo Munemori's great reputation was not gained solely by ninja sneak attacks. He also had some methods of siege cities, but it would result in the deaths of many people.

The first wave of probing was naturally carried out by cheap foot soldiers. In fact, if no one had been captured nearby, the first wave of cannon fodder would not have needed to sacrifice the people of the Otomo family. Otomo Munemori was very sorry about this. Because the mountain path was narrow, hundreds of foot soldiers lined up in a long snake formation, but they became more and more uneasy as they walked.

Most of these foot soldiers were not on the battlefield for the first time, so they knew very well what the current terrain meant to them: death.

But the ferocious warrior with a knife in his hand behind them would not understand their difficulties. Not to mention retreating, if they were a step slower, they would die.

What's more, where can they run to? They will die anyway, so they can only choose to die in battle.

In a sense, they are also veterans because they know how to die.

Turning around and resisting and dying is the worst option, because it is impossible to win and the family will be implicated. Exchanging their lives for a meager pension for their family is the only thing they can do.

Death is also a choice, even if it is forced.

As they continued to climb, the Otomo family's foot soldiers could already see the city gate and suddenly felt despair.

In fact, not only were these foot soldiers who were forced to die in despair, but even the samurai of the Otomo family who served as the supervising team had a grim look on their faces.

The warriors crave war, victory, and glory, but that doesn't mean they like to die in vain. At the moment, they really can't see any hope of survival.

At this time, 300 foot soldiers of Onimaruyama Castle had already climbed onto the city wall. Among them, 150 were crossbowmen and 150 were armed with spears. They showed no fear and were ready for battle.

With such elite troops, coupled with the steep terrain of Guiwan Mountain and the high walls and thick passes, this is not a siege, it is clearly a suicide mission.

But like the foot soldiers before them, they had no choice but to go ahead.

In fact, Otomo Munemori knew very well that he was sending people to die, but he had no choice, because only the death of these people could allow him to make a more targeted siege plan.

They had no choice, and Yan Xu naturally had no choice either, because those who felt they had no choice had already blocked his door with knives and guns. What could he do? He was helpless.

Yan Xu stood on the castle tower and saw clearly the look of fear on the faces of the Otomo family's foot soldiers through the telescope, and his heart couldn't help but become heavy.

However, Yan Xu's compassion has not yet reached the point of overflowing. In fact, he has decided to inflict as much damage to the Otomo family as possible, because he wants peace, and peace can only be achieved through fighting.

It sounds ridiculous, but the truth is even more ridiculous. No one's peace comes for free. If you don't kill people and make the world turn upside down, no one will know who you are and why won't they bully you.

After this realization, Yan Xu's eyes became a little colder, and his heart became more and more indifferent to life, because if he didn't change like this, it would be a torture to his conscience.

So in order to avoid further condemnation of his conscience, he could only let those enemies die faster.

Thinking of this, Yan Xu sighed helplessly, thinking that this was all fate's arrangement, arranging him to eliminate the ancestors of those Japanese devils in advance.

(End of this chapter)