After Li Chenfang captured Osaka, although he suppressed the privileged merchants of the shogunate, he supported the rice merchant forces led by Yodowa Musashi. However, the capture of Osaka that day was still a fluke, except for a few notorious shogunate privileged merchants, for other shogunate privileged merchants whose evil deeds were not very obvious, it was only a matter of fines.

Although the Osaka market has gradually gained the momentum of the world's kitchens, the Osaka rice market has not yet developed into an existence that controls the price of rice in the world, and although the Osaka rice merchants have a lot of influence in the local area, they have not become the leaders of the Osaka merchants. Because of the economic exchanges between Osaka, Kyoto, and Edo, the two merchants and copper merchants of Osaka at this time were the most powerful among the merchants of Osaka.

When several of the leaders of the two merchants who enjoyed the privileges of the shogunate were defeated by the citizens of Osaka and Li Chenfang, these two merchants quickly gathered around the copper merchants led by Yoshinaga Saemon and turned their allegiance to His Royal Highness Tadacho.

Even the rice merchants of Yodowa Musashi did not want to have any conflict with Yoshinaga Saemon, and their business also needed the assistance of these two merchants. Therefore, when Yoshinaga Saemon and others raised a bill in the Diet to march to Kyoto, the merchants led by Yodowatsu Musashi abstained from voting.

On Li Chenfang's side, he listened to the statements of Yoshinaga Saemon and other parliamentary representatives, read the military petition represented by Yuta Higuchi, and was quite moved by the proposal to send troops to Kyoto.

When he sent away Yoshinaga Saemon and the others, and was alone with Xu Xinsu, Li Chenfang asked with some hesitation: "Xu Patrol Envoy, what do you think of the plan proposed by these people to send troops to Kyoto?" Personally, I think the plan is pretty good.

Now that we have made peace with the Kishu Domain, and with your fleet securing Osaka Bay, and Abe Shoji's army stalling in front of Hyogo, Osaka is now facing only Kyoto.

In my opinion, rather than waiting for them to deploy troops to prepare for an attack on Osaka, it is better to take advantage of the fact that Tadashi cut off the Tokaido and attracted the attention of the shogunate, and first move north to Kyoto, disrupting the rhythm of the shogunate's crusading army. ”

Xu Xinsu was silent for a long time before he said: "Although I am now the commander of the Japanese Southern Route Fleet of the ASEAN Association, I am not good at wars on land.

I support all of Major Li's ideas. But before you decide, I have a few questions for you. ”

Li Chenfang nodded at Xu Xinsu and said seriously: "If there is any problem with Xu Xunyue, please tell me directly." ”

Xu Xinsu lowered his head and thought for a while before he said the first question, "Major Li should know that the purpose of our coming to Japan is to make this country submit to the trade rules set by the Ming Dynasty, not really to seize the position of shogun for that Tokugawa Tadacho.

In fact, as long as the shogunate can accede to our requests, the coalition forces don't care who sits in the shogun's position. But if we want Japan to submit, then at least the country needs to have a formal government. It was impossible for the coalition to negotiate with the nearly 300 Japanese princes all the way through.

So what I want to know is, when Major Lee really took Kyoto, it was the current shogun who stepped down? Or will it lead to the fall of the entire Tokugawa shogunate and turn into the Sengoku period when the princes were in chaos? After all, we are not Japanese, and it is impossible for us to order the Japanese court to be used by us. ”

Although Li Chenfang had some difficulty accepting Xu Xinsu's statement, he had trained the Japanese of the Second Battalion of Haiphong for two years and had dealt with these Osaka people for a month, but he did not feel that there was any difference between these Japanese and the Ming people.

The Confucian worldview that he has accepted since he was a child has made Li Chenfang judge only one criterion for Chinese and non-Chinese people, whether he is willing to be loyal to His Majesty the Emperor. The performance of Li Goro, Yodo Musashi, Sasaki Jiro and others convinced him that these Japanese could also become His Majesty's subjects.

But Xu Xinsu's words made him realize that the judgment of Chinese and non-Chinese people should ultimately be based on His Majesty's decision, which couldn't help but make him a little silent.

Xu Xinsu then continued: "Even if there is no great chaos in the world after we occupy Kyoto, if Edo and Tadacho reach a compromise on this, then what will we do next?

The plan had been carried out to such an extent that the coalition forces naturally could not retreat without gain. But will those who claim allegiance to the elders in Osaka Castle still do their best for us as they do now? Will a shogunate, which is no longer internally divided, easily bow down to us?

I think it's best for us to continue to defend Osaka and make the war between Edo and Tadanaga more intense, so that more princes can see the weakness of the shogunate. ”

Li Chenfang frowned and said, "Is this the reason why Xu Xunyue has been selling arms to all kinds of princes in the past few days?" Aren't you worried that in the end these bullets will be fired at ourselves? ”

Xu Xinsu said without worry: "The best arms were sold to the Osaka Division, and as for the other feudal clans, they were just some obsolete arquebuses and inferior civilians*.

You know, now the southern fleet is not only our Ming ships, but also the British and Spaniards. It is impossible for us to have the gold and silver in Osaka Castle alone, so it is most appropriate to transfer the gold and silver in the castle to the Governor's Office through arms transactions.

A flintlock musket is 80 times, a heavy arquebus is 60 times, a Japanese light arquebus is 40 times, a Chinese arquebus is 25 times, a barrel * 50 times, a load of lead is 25 times... Where else in the world can you find such a crazy business?

Now not only did the Kansai princes quietly send people to Osaka to purchase arms, but even the Kanto princes had come to Osaka to inquire about how to purchase arms, which shows that the authority of the shogunate has been shaky.

Next, we only need to wait until Edo's strength is weakened to a certain extent, and go directly to Edo to have a showdown with the shogunate, and there is a good chance that the shogunate will be forced to agree to our request and successfully complete the task assigned by His Majesty. ”

Li Chenfang's original eagerness to try suddenly cooled down, and he was silent for a long time before asking, "So, are you already planning to abandon Tokugawa Tadashicho?" ”

Xu Xinsu immediately corrected: "It's us, in fact, it's not a big abandonment, what we need is only the name of Tokugawa Tadadenga, not a prince with great strength." Before he could stop the Edo attack, we were ready to bring him to Osaka.

But no one expected that he would be able to defeat the attack of Edo, and we would not be able to bring his entire retainers to Osaka, so that we would not be able to make wedding clothes for others. Judging from the current situation, it is not too late to wait for him to fail once or twice, and then go to support him. ”

Li Chenfang thought for a while, and then asked cautiously: "What about Matsuno Shigeyuan and the family members of Tadacho?" Where were they sent? ”

Xu Xinsu said unhurriedly: "Don't worry, they are safe now." I had them sent to Tanegashima Fortress and left Matsuno Shigegen to take care of their safety, so they didn't have to venture to Osaka as long as there were no accidents on Tadacho's side. ”

Li Chenfang was silent for a moment before speaking: "Is this plan your own idea, or has it been approved by His Majesty?" ”

Xu Xinsu hesitated and said, "It was a decision made by me after consulting with Deputy Envoy Ye, you know, he has His Majesty's authorization." ”

Li Chenfang looked at Xu Xinsu and said seriously: "I have reservations about the disposition of the loyal chief, but the South Route Fleet must ensure the safety of the Matsuno Chongyuan Wing, they are still in the sequence of the second battalion of coastal defense, and they are still considered the army of the Ming Dynasty, if anyone dares to deliberately abandon them, I will personally appeal to Your Majesty after the war." ”

Xu Xinsu still said with a smile on his face: "This is as it should be, the Matsuno United team has transported back so much wealth for Daming, and their safety should naturally be guaranteed." Yesterday I ordered three warships to go to Suruga Bay, and in the event of an emergency, nearby whaling ships would be requisitioned and evacuated to the ships as long as they were able to reach the port safely. ”

Li Chenfang abandoned the idea of entering Kyoto, but he immediately said to Xu Xinsu: "Now there are thoughts of sending troops in the army and in the localities, if we completely ignore it, I am afraid it will be difficult to convince the public."

In addition, the attack on Kyoto is certainly too much of a movement, but it is probably not a good thing if Kyoto's force is not tested at all.

I will order Yuta Higuchi and Saemon Kataoka to lead three wings to attack Nara, which is south of Kyoto, closer to Kyoto than Osaka. Our army attacked this place, both to quell the internal demand for an attack on Kyoto and to threaten the flank of the road from Kyoto to Osaka.

If the shogunate officials in Kyoto wanted to send troops to Osaka, they would inevitably compete with us for control of the Nara region, otherwise it would prove that Kyoto was not capable of sending troops to Osaka. We can also concentrate on dealing with Abe's Shoji army to the west..."

On October 29, nearly 30 days had passed since the Suruga Army repelled the shogunate army at the Kotsugawa River.

After the Shogunate retreated, the Suruga soldiers on the Satri Ridge never saw the Shogunate Army appear at the foot of the mountain. However, the shogunate messengers who traveled to and from the road down the mountain became so frequent that sometimes four or five messengers could be seen in a day, and the soldiers on the mountain and at the pass did not know to whom they were delivering the letters.

However, the ashigaru people who had been recruited from the village still enjoyed this peaceful day, and they wished for a truce. After all, in the eyes of these ashigaru, there is no difference between the Tokugawa clan in Edo and the Tokugawa clan in Sunfu Castle, and they are not outsiders.

It is obviously incomprehensible to them that there is a conflict between the general and the lord of the castle, but they are asked to shed blood and die. Even those samurai masters, after receiving the letters sent to them, were depressed and couldn't raise any momentum to fight.

Moreover, according to some gossip, after receiving several handwritten letters from the Lord of the Great Imperial Palace, His Royal Highness Zhongchang of Junfu often stayed in a no-man's place and looked at these letters and quietly wept, as if he missed the relationship between father and son.

This behavior of His Royal Highness Tadashi naturally greatly dispelled the morale of the people inspired by the previous defeat of the shogunate army at Kotsugawa. It is said that recently, at a meeting of the retainers, some people openly advised His Royal Highness Tadashi to rest the army, and submitted a plea to the Imperial Palace, in order to show the affection of the whole father and son. And His Royal Highness Zhongchang didn't cut off this person's head, but just avoided the table and left.

His Royal Highness Tadacho's actions made the voices of the soldiers in Sunfu Castle cry for peace louder again, and the soldiers lost the will to fight, waiting for the reunion scene of father and son harmony to appear, so as to eliminate the disaster of the sword soldiers in Suruga Province.