24-year-old Shigesumi Sakai is a rare beautiful man, and his only flaw is that he is a little shorter. He is the seventh son of Kanemori Keshige, the 2nd lord of the Takayama Domain of the Missile Country, because he was favored when he visited the general Tokugawa Hidetada, and became the small surname of Tokugawa Iemitsu.

When he was a teenager, Shigesumi Sakai was beautiful like a virgin, so he was favored by Tokugawa Iemitsu. When Iemitsu ascended the throne of three generations of generals, he was promoted to the lord of the lower head of the country. From a samurai to a small daimyo, it can be seen how much Iemitsu loves him.

It's just that Sakai Shigesumi likes wine and gorgeous clothes, and has no interest in politics, so he has not been accepted by some old shogunate ministers, thinking that he will only bring the shogun by Iemitsu's side. It's just that he has the protection of Iemitsu, so he can stay free in Edo.

However, last year, Tian Xiuni suddenly disappeared, and his good days came to an end. Although the shogunate blocked the news of Tenshuni's disappearance and still whitewashed the peace of the world, the shogunate secretly did not know how much effort it had spent to find Tenshuni's whereabouts, not to mention how nervous the old people were.

With no way to find Tenshuni, the shogunate's retainers finally turned their attention to the Choshu Domain, which was weakened by the Shogunate, and the Satsuma Domain, which was the most powerful in the southwest. Naotaka Ii, the first minister of the Tokugawa family tree, simply suggested that instead of looking for Tenshuni, it would be better to challenge the Choshu clan first, regardless of whether the Maori family had done it or not, just teach him a lesson first.

If the Choshu clan is weak-hearted, it will naturally reveal flaws. If the Choshu Domain really hadn't done it, it would not be a bad thing for the shogunate to beat it up first and weaken the Choshu Domain to the point where it was unable to rebel.

Naotaka I's suggestion was approved by Shogun Iemitsu, but the Daigosho, who had not been in good health since the previous year, did not want to use force, because he was worried that if he died during this period, it might cause the general who led the army to have other ideas, which would not be conducive to the handover of the shogunate.

Therefore, although Iemitsu and his retainers repeatedly proposed to him to send troops against the Choshu Domain, the Daigosho still pinned its hopes on resolving the shogunate's crisis by peaceful means. Therefore, the Great Imperial Palace did not choose Itakura Katsushige, whom Iemitsu likes, as the commander of the crusading army, but chose Osaka Castle Daishi Abe Masaji, who was more loyal to him.

Abe Masaji went to serve as the commander of the crusade against the Choshu domain, and Osaka Castle naturally needed someone to take over. Osaka Castle was a key point connecting East and West Japan, and it was one of the important sources of the shogunate's finances and taxes, so Iemitsu naturally wanted to find someone he trusted to take over, so Sakai Shigemumi was sent to Osaka as an acting official.

Abe Masaji was still relatively diligent as the representative of Osaka Castle, although the samurai of Osaka Castle had gradually shed the simplicity of the Kanto samurai because of their frequent contacts with merchants, and became frivolous and sleek. But the castle town of Osaka Castle has recovered very well in his hands. More than a dozen castle towns that were burned down during the Summer Battle in Osaka have now been restored, and their area has increased slightly.

Sakai Shigesumi was still quite reluctant when he left Edo, not because he was reluctant to take the general, but because he was reluctant to Yoshihara Yuko's Oiran. However, when he arrived in Osaka, he quickly forgot about Yoshiwara's lovers. Compared to Kyoto and Osaka, which are said to be above, Edo's Yeyu culture is a bit vulgar like a nouveau riche.

Market culture such as dolls and kabuki began to grow in the castle towns of Kyoto and Osaka. Although Osaka's Shinmachi Yukoku is relatively new, the gentleness and affection of Oiran Yukitai made Sakai Shigesumi fall in love at first sight. When he first arrived in Osaka, Shigesumi Sakai, who still had some rules, regained his nature before a winter had passed.

In pursuit of Oiran Yuki, he almost spent all his bags. So he collected more money from merchants, collected bribes, and colluded with rice merchants to hoard Juqi in order to obtain huge profits and other illegal things, Sakai Shigesumi soon became a veteran.

It wasn't until Abe Masaji, who was short of military rations, complained to the shogunate and received the shogunate's reprimand document, that Shigesumi Sakai, who had received the shogunate's reprimand document, planned to find a substitute for the dead to come out and appease the dissatisfaction of the shogunate and the townspeople with the price of food.

However, after arranging for the head Suzuki Saburo to lead a team to arrest the profiteer Yodowata who was driving up the price of rice, and pretending to correct a few documents, Sakai Shigesumi couldn't help but get up and look at the sky outside the window.

After spending a lot of money, Oiran Yukiri Taifu was finally impressed by this merry merchant from Edo. The two are now in a hot relationship, and when they don't see each other for a moment, Sakai Shigesumi feels like something has been hollowed out in his heart, and the whole person begins to be irritable.

Standing at the window and looking at the shadow of the castle tower on the ground below to shorten the distance by an arm's length, Shigesumi Sakai let out a long breath and then shouted, "Kunimi, bring me your clothes." ”

Kunimi, the little surname who served Shigesumi Sakai, said yes outside the door, and soon walked in with a businessman's outfit and changed into clothes while serving Shigesumi Sakai. When Sakai Shigesumi changed his clothes and was about to leave with Kunimi, the secretary who was sorting out the documents for Sakai Shigesumi suddenly hurriedly came to him and asked for instructions: "Your Highness, the shogunate has just sent documents, and there may be documents or other orders issued, what should my subordinates do when they arrive?" ”

Although Osaka and Kyoto have a well-developed culture of wandering girls, there are "rice girls" in lodging places (inns), "bune manju" on some seaside boats, and "hot spring girls" in bath houses. Osaka people laugh at themselves that visiting a brothel in Osaka is as convenient as going to the toilet. But when he openly went to a brothel in broad daylight, Sakai Shigesumi didn't dare to say it so blatantly in front of his subordinates.

Therefore, he replied casually: "It was the shogunate's order that the official put on this outfit and went to the market to investigate one or two to see how dissatisfied the townspeople of Osaka were with the price of grain, so that he could reply to the shogunate." If the shogunate has any orders or documents, they will not be in a hurry and will wait for the official to return from a private visit. If you're in a hurry, let Dafantou discuss it with the two commissioners of the East and West Offices..."

At about three o'clock in the afternoon, a group of officers and soldiers of the shogunate marched through the streets between the three sides of Shin-machi, which were surrounded by water, and the towns of Tani. The line was so long that it looked like two teams, one in front of the other.

At the front of the procession, dozens of young men were closely watched by the shogunate officers and soldiers, and the emblems printed on the coats worn by these men indicated that they were all men and shopkeepers of several rice merchants. At the back of the procession, there were more than a dozen large carts covered with cloth, and a group of unkempt women, and it was precisely because these women and vehicles were dragging down the pace of the team that the group of people looked like two teams.

As the procession passed through the streets in front of Tanimachi, the townspeople kept running out of the alleys to see the excitement, and the procession of townspeople gathered behind the procession to watch the excitement seemed to have formed a huge tail.

Daisuke Sanada, who was at the forefront of the line, looked at the increasingly clear walls of Osaka's outer castle in front of him, and his heart couldn't help but start to get slightly nervous. Although he had been in and out of the walls countless times in the past few years, it was the first time he had experienced this tense and unfamiliar feeling.

Daisuke Sanada's eyes looked through the nearly five-room tall stone wall in the distance, and he seemed to see the fire that burned from the castle tower in Osaka Castle 16 years ago. At that time, he had just heard the news of his father's death in battle, and saw with his own eyes that his loyal lord had set fire to the city, and everything was in ruin for a while, and he felt that the world had abandoned him, and he wanted to give up his life for a while.

However, the Mori Katsuya, who was with him at the time, stopped him and made him take off his armor and escape Osaka Castle disguised as an ordinary townman. In the days that followed, Sanada Daisuke, who watched the shogunate's rule become more and more stable, couldn't help but feel remorse every time he thought about it, thinking that this was the greatest punishment from God for his cowardice and stealing life.

The Mori Katsuya, who had already seen the samurai at the city gate, drew a short knife and put it against the vest of the head of the group, Takano Heita, and whispered in his ear: "Hachiro, I know the location of your home, I believe that you also want to see your two younger sisters get married safely, and your mother wants to see you go back alive, so don't do stupid things, you know?" ”

Takano Heita, whose neck was about to stiffen, nodded subconsciously, and said flatteringly: "I know, I know, I must do what Uncle Maori tells me, please be lighter, I feel that the knife has poked in..."

For Takano Heita's well-behaved, Maori Katsuya is very satisfied. Among the more than 100 people in the front team, except for Takano Heita and Suzuki Saburo, who was carried unconscious, the others were all comrades of the Toyotomi remnants. For today's fight, he mobilized the forces of the Toyotomi remnants in Osaka.

Looking at the castle gate cave of the black hole outside the first town, the Mori Katsuya suddenly turned his head to look at Sanada Daisuke, who was walking on the other side of Takano Heita, and asked, "Achang, are you nervous?" ”

Sanada Daisuke glanced back at him, then turned his head to look ahead and said, "I just remembered my father and His Highness Hideyori. ”

The Mori Katsuya, who originally wanted to make fun of Sanada Daisuke, suddenly fell silent, and after continuing to take a few steps forward, he suddenly said happily: "After today, no one in the world will not know the name of my Mori Katsuya, it's a pity that Ieyasu's traitor can't hear my martial name."

If he was still alive, he would not believe that a little ant like us could bite the elephant-like shogunate, right? Achang, if we really succeed today, what is the first thing you have to do? ”

Sanada Daisuke thought for a moment before replying: "I will pray to my father and change my name back to Sanada Yukimasa, so that the Tokugawa clan knows that the bloodline of Sanada Yukimura has not been broken..."

Although Takano Heita, who was sandwiched between the two, was smiling all the time, he was simply shocked by the conversation between the two around him. He felt that these Toyotomi remnants were simply crazy, and they wanted to attack Osaka Castle built by the Gonkenden with only a few hundred people, and they still had the luxury of hoping to succeed, were they brave or too ignorant?

However, Takano Heita quickly became worried about his future fate, even if he did not die at the hands of these madmen, if the shogunate knew that he actually surrendered to Toyotomi's rebels, it is estimated that he would not be spared.

Just as Takano Heita was thinking about how to get out of the current predicament, their team finally walked to the city gate. The two gate guards only glanced at their clothes, and then saw Saburo Suzuki on the stretcher in front of the line, and got out of the way without asking, and made a noise for them to drive away the pedestrians who were about to leave the city, so that they could pass through the gate unimpeded.

Takano Heita swallowed a mouthful of saliva silently, and under the hostage of the Maori Katsuya, he walked into the dark castle gate cave. He thought silently, it was actually good to walk on a life like this.