After the banquet that night, Hideho did not rush to let Tokugawa Ieyasu and the others return to Minowa Castle, but left them at Numata Castle to rest for two days, and it was not until May 7 that they were allowed to go south with the main army.

On the evening of May 7, the 140,000-strong army arrived at Minowa Castle to join forces with Goto Kiji and Asano Yukinaga, who had arrived earlier, and at the signal of Hidebo, Tokugawa Ieyasu demanded that the 20,000 Tokugawa troops in the city be disarmed.

In the early morning of May 8, Hideho asked Tokugawa Ieyasu to send his retainers to the Tokugawa Domain in the Kanto region to persuade the castle lords who were still holding on to Kaejo, and on the other hand, he led his army westward along the Nakasendo Road, and arrived at Komoro Castle on May 10, where he praised Sanada Ichi, who had shown bravery in the Battle of Shinano, while the rebellious Shinano daimyo were severely reprimanded by Hidebo, who immediately demanded that the daimyo disband their forces and allow only a few retainers to go to Osaka with the army to meet Hideyori and Yodohime.

At noon on May 11, the army arrived at Takashima Castle on the eastern shore of Lake Suwa, and Hideho and others, who had planned to continue their journey after a short rest, received bad news here: just three days earlier, the Toyotomi coalition forces besieging Edo Castle were engaged in artillery deterrence, and happened to hit the warehouse next to the castle tower where gunpowder was temporarily stored, causing a violent explosion, which directly caused the collapse of the left side of the castle tower, and Tokugawa Hidetada happened to be in the temple at this time, and unfortunately was buried on the spot. Although he tried his best to save him, he still died in the end. Sadly, late that night, an emissary sent by Ieyasu arrived in Edo and conveyed Ieyasu's order to the Sakai brothers to call for the opening of the castle.

Filled with grief and indignation, Sakai Shigetada committed suicide by the warehouse, while his brother Sakai Tadayoshi surrendered in the early morning of May 9 as a representative of the Tokugawa army, and Ogasawara Tadakiyoshi and others took over Edo Castle, and the Toyotomi army's crusade against the Tokugawa domain came to an end. Subsequently, the daimyo who participated in the siege set out from Edo Castle and traveled west along the Tokaido, eventually catching up with Hideho's main team at Naeki Castle in Higashimino.

However, before that, in Takashima Castle, all the Tokugawa clans, including Tokugawa Ieyasu, were suffering because of Tokugawa Hidetada's death, and some retainers tried to incite the few Tokugawa troops accompanying him to mutiny, and avenged Tokugawa Hidetada by assassination and other means.

But Tokugawa Ieyasu stopped such actions and severely reprimanded the mutinous Tokugawa army. Compared with the death of Tokugawa Hidetada, he was more concerned about how Hidebo could quietly organize an army to attack Edo from three directions, and take a vast area except for Honmaru and Ninomaru in one day. You must know that Edo Castle is a giant city that Tokugawa Ieyasu spent ten years expanding and reinforced, although it is not as good as Osaka Castle, but it is also one of the top three castles in the world, and it was easily captured by Hideho, which is undoubtedly a trampling on the prestige of the Tokugawa clan.

"My lord, what should we do?" On more than one occasion, Honda Tadasakatsu and other retainers expressed their inner worries and confusion about the future of the Tokugawa clan to Tokugawa Ieyasu, and in their view, Tokugawa Hidetada's death was tantamount to a disaster.

But Tokugawa Ieyasu didn't let this get into disarray, he spent the night sorting his thoughts, and finally made an important decision the next morning.

"Why do you think Youfu wants to keep us in Numata City for two more days?" Tokugawa Ieyasu asked the retainers.

"Do you want to take us hostage so that the Asano Army can take over Minowa Castle?" Honda asked.

Tokugawa Ieyasu shook his head and turned his gaze to Yasumasa Sakakihara.

"According to the lord's opinion, but it has something to do with the Toyotomi army sending troops to Edo?" There was a hint of nervousness and worry in Sakakihara's words.

"Conquering Jade Rope Castle, taking control of Edo Bay, encroaching on Kokufutai, and completing the encirclement of Edo, it is impossible for the Right Government to be ignorant of this series of battles. However, it is not only a bit far-fetched to think about it now, but when you think about it deeply, it seems that it was really intentional by Youfu. Tokugawa Ieyasu then slowly explained: "Just as Osaka Castle is the symbol of the Toyotomi clan, Edo Castle is the symbol of the Tokugawa clan's entry into the Kanto region, and taking it is the best blow to the Tokugawa clan and the best warning to those half-hearted daimyos." ”

"However, according to the report, the Toyotomi coalition did not take advantage of the victory to pursue and conquer Ninomaru and Honmaru in one fell swoop, but carried out non-stop shelling, as if to construct a tense atmosphere and deterrence." Honda Tadakatsu said curiously.

Tokugawa Ieyasu nodded and replied, "Maybe it's true that as you said, the Right House did originally want to coerce Hidetada to surrender and avoid causing more casualties, but this situation doesn't seem to be a bad thing for him now. ”

"The family's military strength has been disintegrated, and it is no longer a threat to him." Honda Tadakatsu sighed helplessly.

"The old man is not referring to the military situation," Tokugawa Ieyasu corrected: "20,000 against 140,000, there is no suspense, and defeat is inevitable." But the main thing is the question of the Tokugawa heir. ”

"Heir?" Tokugawa Ieyasu's words made a lot of waves in everyone's hearts: "The young master of Hidetada died in battle, can anyone still bear such a heavy responsibility in this world?" ”

"Not only are there any, but they're very suitable." Tokugawa Ieyasu said confidently.

"The lord refers to ......" Sakakihara Yasumasa seemed to have an answer in his mind, but he didn't seem to want to go into details.

"That's right." Tokugawa Ieyasu nodded solemnly, and everyone also heard the clue after I did,

On the morning of the 12th, Tokugawa Ieyasu came to Hideho's residence before the army set off and officially expressed to him his desire for Tokugawa Hideyasu to inherit the Tokugawa family business.

Hideho first comforted Ieyasu, but politely refused Tokugawa Ieyasu's request on the grounds that "Hideyasu is the adopted (only) son of the Yuki clan and must inherit the name of the Yuuki clan".

At this time, in Hidebo's mind, the best way to establish authority is, of course, to exterminate the Tokugawa clan, but in fact, considering that Ieyasu is still of great use, Hidebo still gave up this idea and instead ordered the army to hurry as soon as possible, while implying that Tokugawa Ieyasu's matter of the heir also needs to be agreed upon by the joint meeting.

On May 13, the army finally arrived at Naoki Castle in Higashimino, and Hidenaga Kawajiri, as the lord of Naeki Castle, had his retainers prepare a grand banquet to entertain the daimyo from all over the country. At the same time, Oda Hidenobu, the head of the Oda family and known as the "Gifu Nayan", also hurried to Naoki Castle after learning the news, preparing to meet Hideho before entering Beijing.