Edo, shogunate.

"General, Ditian-kun is back, bringing back earth-shattering news."

A high-ranking samurai, dressed in clogs, hurried over and reported to Tokugawa Iemitsu, who was drinking tea in the backyard of the shogun's palace.

He looked a little frightened, as if he had learned something bad.

"Oh."

Tokugawa Iemitsu picked up the exquisite teacup in his hand, touched it with the lid of the cup in a decent manner, and took a sip of fragrant tea, "He came back so soon, didn't he bring back the news of the Ming army?" ”

This is a big thing, Tokugawa Iemitsu is a little weaker in character and body, but in other aspects, he is still very courageous.

"It is rumored that he will wait in the council hall, and then go to the shogunate to announce a few elders and old middle and daimyo together, and we will discuss it together."

Hearing that Masamori had returned to Edo, Tokugawa Iemitsu did not delay the time, and immediately ordered the shogunate elder Sakai Tadayo, the old Nakayama Tadashitoshi, Doi Toshikatsu, Matsudaira Nobutsuna, and the daimyo Toda Shitetsu to go to the shogun's palace to discuss matters.

Matsudaira Nobutsuna and Toda Clan had just arrived in Edo yesterday, and they had brought with them an army of 50,000 shogunate samurai.

Under the strict orders of Tokugawa Iemitsu, it took a lot of effort to curb the signs of the rampant Catholicism in Shimabara and Amakusa.

Immediately after receiving an order from the shogunate, he hurriedly led the samurai army back to Honshu from Kyushu Island.

A quarter of an hour later, in the council hall of the Shogunate, Tokugawa Iemitsu and several shogunate leaders were seated.

Everyone's faces were not very good, and they had obviously guessed what was going on.

It's obvious.

When Masamori came back, he brought back dozens of elite samurai, but Abe Tadaaki and 20,000 elite soldiers of the shogunate were nowhere to be found!

Even if you are an ordinary person, you have noticed that something is wrong, not to mention which one of you here is not cunning and strategic?

Soon, Masamori Tsuchida, who had a look of grief and anger on his face, was brought up by two high-ranking samurai.

Without waiting for him to speak, Tokugawa Iemitsu hurriedly asked, "Digging fields, why are you the only ones coming back, Abe Tadaaki?" ”

"Your Excellency, General."

Masamori fell to his knees in the middle of the hall and said gloomily, "Abe-kun has died in battle. ”

"What!?"

Sakai Tadashi lost his voice and said, "What's going on?" I only asked you to spy on the movements of the Ming Dynasty army and find out their situation, but I didn't let you take military action without authorization! Now ......"

Masamori said with a wry smile: "Your Excellency Sakai, I have also tried hard to persuade you, but Abe-kun refuses to listen. ”

Sakai Tadashi frowned and said, "What the hell is going on?" ”

Masamori didn't dare to hide anything, and told the story of his war in Koga in detail.

After listening to Masamori's narration, Doi Toshikatsu gasped and said in a condensed voice: "Speaking of which, the Ming Dynasty army that landed from Osaka is not an ordinary army, this Ming army is not only well-equipped, but also well-trained and outrageously strong in combat? ”

"Abe-kun was unprepared, and it was a sneak attack at night, and in the end it turned out to be a tough battle, and the whole army was wiped out, and even Abe Tadaaki was killed by the generals of the Ming Dynasty?"

"It can be seen that the reaction speed of this Ming army is very fast, and the armament is extremely sophisticated, even if it encounters a sneak attack, it is not panicked at all, and its adaptability is even more extraordinary."

"It's not all."

Diga Masamori said in a solemn tone, "The repeater crossbows used by this Ming Dynasty army are very accurate and have an extremely long range, and the archery skills of the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty army are also very accurate, and their hit rate is also frighteningly high when shooting at a hundred paces!" ”

"In the battle at night, their crossbow shots were endless, and the power was huge, and the 20,000 elite samurai under Abe-kun were all wiped out until the end when they failed to rush within fifty steps!"

When Doi Toshikatsu and Masamori Tsugata said this, everyone in the hall felt heavy, and for a while, everyone's faces sank like water, frowning and speechless, all thinking about something.

Today, there are various indications that the Ming army that landed from Osaka this time seems to be very different from the Ming army that fought the shogunate army on the Goguryeo Peninsula nearly 50 years ago.

At that time, the Ming Dynasty army was not only backward in equipment, but also seemed to be far inferior to the current Ming Dynasty army.

Tokugawa Iemitsu's eyes were a little flustered, his face looked a little pale, and he looked around and asked, "Do you like to read?"

"Abe Tadaaki is a famous general in our country, and now even he has died in the hands of the Ming Dynasty, and the 20,000 elites under him are also wiped out......"

"The army of the Ming Empire, which is attacking on a large scale this time and advancing by land and water, now looks very powerful, this ...... What should we do? ”

"Your Excellency, General, don't be in a hurry."

Sakai Tadashi took a breath and persuaded, "Although the people of the Ming Dynasty are well-equipped and well-trained, they are ultimately labor-based expeditions, which are difficult to last, and there are many inconveniences and restrictions in logistics. ”

"As long as we can withstand the attack of their army, after a while, the war will develop in our favor."

With that, Sakai Tadashi turned his gaze to Toshikatsu Doi, the old man of the shogunate, and asked, "Doi-kun, what do you think?" ”

The three elders of the Tokugawa shogunate, Tadashi Sakai, Toshikatsu Doi, and Tadashi Aoyama, each had their own strengths: Tadashi Aoyama was good at internal affairs, Toshikatsu Doi was good at resourcefulness, and Tadashi Sakai was good at regulating all aspects of local relations.

All three of them were the pillars of the shogunate and made great contributions to the stability and development of the Tokugawa shogunate.

It can even be said that the current Tokugawa shogunate was perfected by them.

If it weren't for the three of them to help Tokugawa Iemitsu deal with various affairs and offer advice, Tokugawa Iemitsu would really not be able to sit firmly in the position of shogun, and the country would inevitably be a mess.

Doi Toshikatsu pondered for a while, and did not immediately answer Sakai Tadashi, but asked Takuta Masamori: "Tsukata, you just said that the battle between Abe Tadaaki and the Ming Dynasty army took place in Koga County?" ”

Digada Zhengsheng said: "Exactly. ”

Doi Toshikatsu said: "Then do you know the Ming Dynasty army, where they plan to march next?" ”

"The Ming Dynasty army is now advancing in the direction of Nagoya, and after capturing Nagoya, it may next cross the Kiso Mountains, the Akaishi Mountains, and the Kanto Mountains and advance eastward. ”

"According to the estimation of his subordinates, the ultimate target of the Ming Dynasty army may be Edo, that is, the imperial seat of the Shogun."

"Something is wrong."

Aoyama Tadashi was puzzled, "If the target of the Ming Dynasty's army is Edo, then wouldn't it be better for their large fleet to land directly from Edo?" ”

"However, at the moment, they have chosen to land in Osaka and walk more than a thousand miles of rugged mountain roads before attacking Edo.

"No, it's not what Lord Aoyama said it is."

Doi Toshikatsu shook his head and said, "The ultimate goal of the Ming Dynasty should be Edo, and the reason why they chose to land in Osaka was not an extra move!" ”

He shouted, "This general of the Ming Empire is a great talent, and his intentions are very sinister, they want to induce my shogunate army to fight a decisive battle with him!" ”

Shigejun Aoyama said in a condensed voice: "In other words, the expeditionary force of the Ming Empire, they want to finish their work in one battle?" ”

Doi Toshikatsu is worthy of being the wise man among the three elders of the shogunate, and he saw through the strategic intentions of the Niu family army at a glance.

But there is nothing strange about it, Zhu Youxiao and Zhong Jixiang did not have the intention of hiding their strategic intentions.

What is Strategy?

Strategy is a macro strategy, which is affected by many factors such as national strength, manpower, and military strength.

When the two countries go to war, anyone with a little judgment can basically easily judge the strategic intentions of the hostile countries with their own.

It is not difficult to paralyze the enemy tactically, but it is not difficult to paralyze the enemy strategically.

So now it is normal for Toshikatsu Doi to see through the enemy's plan at a glance.

However, it is not easy to see through and see through, and it is not easy to cope with the current push of the Ming Royal Marines.

The enemy is now on the verge of forcing you to fight a decisive battle.

Otherwise, under such circumstances, the side will avoid fighting and will deal a huge blow to the morale and self-confidence of the people.

At that time, compared to the previous annihilation of Abe Tadaaki and the 20,000 elite samurai army, it was a pain that his side could not bear.

Therefore, the current Doi Toshikatsu felt that the enemy was very tricky, and he frowned and thought hard.

As the chief thinker of the shogunate, he had to think of an effective response as soon as possible to solve this great crisis.