Soudouki Chapter 186

Chapter 186 – Demon of War Maneuvering

There was a general called Gamo Tadasaburo Ujisato.

He was born as the third son of Gamo Katahide who served Rokkaku  clan. After Rokkaku clan perished, he became Oda Nobunaga’s son-in-law  and finally he became viceroy of 900,000 koku fief in Aizu.

If Nobunaga was an extraordinary person, Ujisato was an expert of war.

At the same time he was also a well-known master of tea ceremony and  one of the seven noted disciples of Sen no Rikyuu. He was also a pious  Christian who had the baptismal name of Leon.

It was also said that Ujisato’s capability scared Hideyoshi Toyotomi  which made him got sent out to Tohoku region because Hideyoshi was wary  of Ujisato’s ambition.

If he didn’t die young from sickness, Ujisato should become one of  the Council of Five Elders without a doubt. Even the dream of unifying  the country wouldn’t become impossible for him.

At the very least the Battle of Sekigahara wouldn’t occur and Ieyasu’s unification of the country would be drastically delayed.

「Perhaps there will also be a chance for me to unify the country if  I’m near the capital, but such thing won’t come true with me in this  land of Aizu」, there was also an anecdote of him saying such complain.

Incidentally he was also a character whose age was in the middle of  Tokugawa Ieyashu and Ishida Mitsunari. He also had great popularity  among Hosokawa Tadaoki, Katou Kiyomasa, and others.

Regardless whether the person himself had the intention for that or  not, the history would definitely be changed if he lived long.

Gamo Ujisato was also thoroughly a person of the field.

He would rush out faster than anyone when it came to war. The figure  of Ujisato could always be seen at the forefront of Gamo army.

And yet, he never got hit by even a single bullet.

In the warring states era where matchlock was spreading rapidly, the  casualty rate of the vanguard had grown incomparably high from before.

After brave generals like Oni Musashi aka Mori Nagayoshi died from  sniping, military commander started taking command of the troops from  the rear. The era even became one where taking the vanguard position was  simply considered as a rash courage.

However Ujisato continued to stand at the forefront throughout his life even after he got warned by Hideyoshi.

Even then he almost never got injured. People started saying that his body was loved by the heaven because of that.

(Unfortunately he had no economic sense. He designed a castle town  that was shaped as a huge maze for the sake of the castle’s defense at  Ise Matsushima, which caused the town’s economy to stagnate. He was a  genuine demon of war.)

That Ujisato had continued to serve as general ever since his teenage until his death.

It was said that Oka Sanai, the cheapskate general was also a fellow  Christian with the baptismal name of Joan. After Ujisato’s death, he  left Gamo clan and served Uesugi clan.

Later on Oka got dismissed by Uesugi clan and served Ujisato’s son  Tadayuki and grandson Tadasato, but in his heart his only master was  Ujisato alone till the end.

.

The next day, Ekaterina immediately started taking action after her body recovered.

「――How easygoing everyone is.」

From what Ekaterina saw, Answerer Kingdom was already checkmated.

And yet this country still believed that it was the strongest nation in Aurelia continent without any doubt.

Looking at the past how Ashikaga shogunate and Ishiyama Honganji  exposed such miserable disgraceful behavior before the demon king of the  sixth heaven, he knew that things like the past glory or authority were  completely useless in the presence of violence.

「I wonder why this country isn’t hardening its defense decently even though its navy is decimated?」

Although Answerer Kingdom’s navy was half destroyed, it still maintained a mighty force.

However now the Majorca Kingdom under Urraca’s leadership and  Horntbeck Kingdom had turned into enemy. The control of the ocean was  almost completely in the enemy’s grasp.

This country barely avoided falling into the situation where they  allowed the enemy allied army to land on its shore, but at this rate it  wouldn’t be able to avoid death from emaciation with the enemy keeping  its control of the sea.

It should need a trump card as soon as possible, just like when  Nobunaga built the iron-reinforced warships in order to oppose the Mori  navy.

And most of all, the economic force of the allied army with Trystovy  Kingdom at its core was already far surpassing Answerer Kingdom.

Oda Nobunaga was able to reign supreme in the past was because it was  in possession of economic force that was greater than any other  country.

As Nobunaga’s son-in-law, Gamo Ujisato had learned about his ability from right nearby.

That was exactly why he felt unbearably frustrated at Answerer  Kingdom’s state of affair right now where everyone didn’t have any sense  of danger.

The door to Ekaterina’s private room was knocked while she was groaning at her wits’ end like that.

「――It’s your humble servant Pushkin. I have come to visit with haste after your highness summoned me.」

「Come in.」

An unrefined looking military office came in and offered Ekaterina a rigid bow.

「Long time no see, Ally.」

Ekaterina’s face broke into a smile. Pushkin scratched his head with a clearly troubled expression.

「What can of business the princess can possibly have with me at this point?」

Pushkin was a private tutor who once taught Ekaterina self-defense technique as a member of the royal family.

Now he was famous as an up-and-coming general.

Although Pushkin House was a noted military family, getting promoted  to be a general at one’s early thirty was a very quick progress.

Ekaterina knew that it wasn’t only thanks to Pushkin’s individual  military prowess, but also thanks to his true nature as a strategist.

「Our country will lose at this rate. So lend me your strength.」

「……I don’t understand what is your highness saying.」

Pushkin was taken aback by Ekaterina’s sudden command――he tried to make it like she was just joking around.

Ekaterina was sickly and had only just managed to get up from her  bed. There was no way he could just accept Ekaterina’s words as they  were.

「You and your friends are also aware of our impending defeat correct?  What did you guys call it again? Youth officer meeting or something  isn’t it?」

「Princess!」

Killing intent that he had only radiated in battlefield instantly burst out from Pushkin’s whole body.

「There see? That killing intent is the greatest proof that I can ask for.」

「I don’t know what your highness mean by that.」

Pushkin averted his gaze awkwardly.

From the start he wasn’t a man who was great at acting. But Ekaterina  knew that his love to his motherland and to military art was far  greater than the others.

「At this rate our country won’t even last for a year. If Soldividian  fall, even the authority of Vhoipos(The Universally Shining One) will  fall onto the mud.」

Originally Answerer Kingdom wished to send reinforcement to  Soldividian because the battle there would decide the fate of this  country.

However in the current situation where they were gradually losing the  control over the sea, they couldn’t ignore the risk of the enemy  landing on their shores while the capital was undefended.

In other words they couldn’t concentrate their whole force to the east.

But if Soldividian fell, Answerer Kingdom’s dignity as the protector  of Europa religion would go down the toilet. This country that was  already inferior in national strength and technological strength would  definitely fall even further into worse situation.

That was the reason Ekaterina thought that this country was already checkmated.

「――Is the mass production of the holy relics from the church progressing well?」

「There is no problem with the weapons. The problem is with the gunpowder for making use of them it seems.」

『Bullet powder eh. Well, that’s that with that avenue.』

「Ha?」

Pushkin tilted his head in suspicion when the princess suddenly spoke in foreign language.

「There will be a limit in the production of gunpowder as long as we  don’t find any vein of saltpeter. I wonder how is the other side  procuring their own supply.」

「Just where in the world your highness obtain that knowledge?」

The Ekaterina that Pushkin knew was certainly an intelligent woman  who was aware of her duty as a royalty, but her ability should be a bit  lacking.

Not to mention she wasn’t a personage who could ward off a genuine killing intent of a military officer by all means.

「――Don’t you think it will be more efficient for your objective if you have a royalty at your side who can act as flag bearer?」

「Ugh」

Pushkin’s mind was thrown into chaos facing this unbelievable situation.

He was being overwhelmed by the girl before his eyes.

This him who had struggled through numerous carnages and killed a great number of enemies.

He felt like he was being glared by a veteran general who had  sprinted through the battlefield for many years. Pushkin was on the  verge of collapsing.

「There is no more time. Someone as excellent as you should have realized it already.」

「I agree that we have no more time. However that is not a reason why I have to submit under you.」

「――Then let us make a bet.」

「Hah?」

Pushkin kept being toyed around by the unexpected suggestion from Ekaterina.

「How about you try doing a battle following exactly what I said for the time being?」

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