After Naito Masakachi repulsed, Tokugawa Yoshinao was silent for a long time before he asked Chen Yuanzan, who was sitting silent, "Mr. Yuanzan, what do you think I should do next?" ”

Chen Yuanzan, who was dressed in a Ming costume, had been thinking about it just now, and when he heard Yizhi's inquiry, he said unhurriedly: "Although Junfu City will not use this kind of thing to deceive His Highness, but we must not be on guard, it is better to send someone to inquire about it again, and find out how the Shogunate Army was defeated in this battle, and how miserable the defeat was, so that Your Highness can decide the next move." ”

Yoshinao nodded and said, "Sir's right, although the land passage was cut off by Torii Seiji, there was no exchange of fishermen at sea. Saburo Miki, you go find a fishing boat and go to the Xingjin area to inquire about what is going on there. ”

A young surname who was waiting outside immediately agreed, and left in a hurry. Only then did Yoshinao continue to ask Chen Yuanzan: "According to Mr., if what Naito Masakichi said is the truth, what should we do?" What can we do if it's not true? ”

Chen Yuanzan thought about it for a long time this time, and then he was a little cautious and said: "Your Highness, what the villain likes is only the small art of fighting and pottery, and there is no research on military affairs. ”

Yizhi smiled and said, "The Master Shenfu of the Ming Kingdom that Mr. Yuanzan introduced to me is the best military thing. I still remember that when Master Shinfu came to Owari not long ago, he met with me.

Master Shinfu told me at the time that Owari was a rare and fertile place in Kansai, with the benefits of fish and rice and a good port for foreign trade, and it was no accident that Nobunaga was able to dominate the world in the fourth or fifth day of the Kyoto Imperial Court.

The canonization of Gonkenden on this place was a clever way to stabilize the rule of the Edo shogunate. However, it is precisely for this reason that if Owari is at odds with Edo, he will be the biggest threat to the shogunate. Even if it is close to flesh and blood, it will turn its face into an enemy when the time comes.

I didn't understand what the master meant by saying this to me back then, but after seeing the Tadashi raise his army, I understood a little. Sir and Master Shen Fu are friends, how can I know nothing about military affairs, and please ask Mr. to teach me. ”

After Yizhi finished speaking, he gave a serious salute to Chen Yuanzan, which immediately made him hurry, Chen Yuanzan replied with some trepidation while saluting back: "Your Highness, please don't have to be like this, since Your Highness has a life, the villain should know that everything is endless." ”

To be honest, Chen Yuanzan has crossed the sea for several years, but he really didn't want to make any trouble in Japan. He relied on his identity as a Ming man, as well as his fighting and pottery-making skills, and he was still very comfortable in Japan, which was becoming more and more peaceful.

However, Chen Yuanzan is still a Ming man after all, and he can enjoy the life of being sought after in Japan, but his relatives still need to survive in the Ming Kingdom. Therefore, when the monk Shenfu arrived in Japan with the emperor's edict, Chen Yuanzan had to accept the appointment and became an official of the Ming embassy.

In the past two years, under the pretext of visiting Japan's famous mountains and rivers, Monk Shenfu has traveled all over the Kanto region, and has many temptations to the wealthy daimyo in various places, how could Chen Yuanzan not understand that the other party obviously came to Japan for another purpose.

If possible, Chen Yuanzan did not want to join Shen Fu's plan, after all, he had lived in Japan for so many years, not only made many big friends, but also accepted many disciples, emotionally speaking, Japan has become his second hometown.

However, some things are not transferred by his personal will, who would have thought that His Royal Highness Tadashi would rise up and fall the curtain? Chen Yuanzan had to obey Shen Fu's orders and came to Owari to get close to the old master, wanting to understand Yoshinao's thoughts.

Although Chen Yuanzan was cautious, he tried to avoid expressing his opinions in front of Yizhi in an attempt to avoid this troubled water. However, at such a moment, he who is related to the envoy of the Ming Kingdom will naturally not be ignored by righteousness.

Under the seemingly respectful advice of Yizhi, Chen Yuanzan had to throw out his thoughts: "The villain thinks that if the news brought by Naito Masayoshi is false, of course our army can ignore it and continue to attack according to the plan."

But if the news is true, then His Highness should consider two questions, one is whether the Toe Hao clan that is now being recruited can still be used by us, since the Itakura Shigemasa army has been repulsed, our army has become a lone army in the depths, although the Owari army is well-trained, it may not be able to easily defeat the morale-high Suruga soldiers;

The second is that even if His Highness defeats the Suruga Army on the other side, it may not be a good thing. Isn't the defeat of the main force under the personal command of the shogunate and the victory of His Highness a declaration to the world that the shogunate's force is inferior to that of Owari? The Lord is weak and the branches are strong, this is the way to take trouble..."

Although Chen Yuanzan's analysis was very pertinent, it was not what Yizhi wanted to hear the most, and he finally expressed his true thoughts, "Mr. Yuanzan, I still want to know one thing, what kind of attitude does Da Ming have towards this war?" ”

Chen Yuanzan paused for a moment, and then remembered that he was not the ordinary person who crossed the sea alone, and he still had a position appointed by the emperor. To a certain extent, the other party does not value him as a person, but the attitude of the huge country behind him.

After settling down, Chen Yuanzan finally spoke: "The Ming Dynasty does not have a special view on the civil war in Japan, but we hope that the shogunate should become more civilized and developed, especially the principle of free trade cannot be destroyed..."

Listening to Chen Yuanzan say a lot of cloudy words as if reciting, Yizhi put his mind at ease, which shows that his speculation is correct, and Daming is not an outsider in this war.

When Chen Yuanzan retreated, Yoshinao looked at the letter that Naito Masakichi had placed on the tatami mat before, and suddenly said to the intimate surname who stepped forward to pack up: "Put this letter away, and hand it in intact with the documents I reported to the shogunate..."

On October 11, Tokugawa Yoshinao, Owari Domain, sent a letter to the Edo Shogunate on a merchant ship, eight days after the defeat of the Shogunate army at the Kotsugawa River.

Iemitsu, who was discussing the second crusade against Suruga with his subordinates, suddenly became even more annoyed after reading Yoshinao's letter.

Jiaguang's face was pale and he said in a righteous letter: "Shameless, as a descendant of the Quan Xian Palace, he wants to make peace with a traitor like Zhongchang who has no king and no father, and even openly intercedes for the traitor. He said that the loyal chief was only delirious for a while, and asked the general to be lenient, first pardon the loyal chief's crime of treason, and then sit down for peace talks, is this what a courtier should say? ”

Although it was the crisp autumn season in Edo in October, and the drizzle outside brought a bit of chill, most of the shogunate ministers sitting in the Kurokshoin Ohiro room were sweating profusely at the moment, and they did not dare to make a movement to disturb the angry Ieko.

However, Iemitsu's anger did not last long, and Tokugawa Hidetada, the great imperial office that had not been out of Nishinomaru for a long time, suddenly came to the Black Academy with the support of two young surnames. Iemitsu had to get up to greet his father and give up his throne.

Xiuzhong didn't back down as usual, just sat down directly, and said to the ministers with a smile: "What did you do, why did you make the general so annoyed, I heard the anger of Iemitsu outside the academy, could it be that the sky of my Tokugawa family is about to fall?" ”

Jiaguang was silent and did not try to defend himself, and none of the ministers below dared to answer the questions of the Great Imperial Palace out loud. Although everyone knows very well that the Great Imperial Palace will not appear here for no reason, it is clear that someone has passed the book of Yoshinao to Nishinomaru.

Seeing that everyone was silent, Xiuzhong finally restrained his smile and directly named Naotaka Ii and asked him to explain why Iemitsu was so angry.

Jing Yi Naotaka told Xiuzhong in 1510 that Jiaguang had just received Yizhi's letter, and the reason for his anger.

After Xiuzhong listened, he stretched out his hand to Jiaguang and said, "Bring it, let me see what Yizhi said." ”

Jiaguang hesitated, and finally handed the crumpled letter to his father. Xiuzhong read Yoshinao's letter as usual, and then glanced at the retainers in the room and said, "Itakura Shigema's defeat in Xingjin River has been eight days, and you can tell me how you plan to deal with this defeat?" What are the next countermeasures for Sunfu Castle? ”

Under the hint of Matsudaira Nobutsuna, Sakai Tadashi couldn't help but report to Hidetada: "Although Itakura Shigemasa made a mistake in this defeat, the troops of the Tokaido feudal domains have not been assembled for a long time, and the lack of trust between them is also the main reason.

After discussion, the ministers thought that it was necessary to cut off half of Itakura Shigemasa's annual salary, remove him from his current official position, and make him guilty of meritorious service in the army...

The Shogunate did not obey the orders of the Shogunate and raised troops to meet the Shogunate army, and its rebellious heart was already clearly revealed. The ministers thought that it was necessary to recruit the armies of the Kanto feudal domains, and to crusade against the Sunfu again with the Edo banner as the core, and to bring the rebels back to Edo for trial, so that the right way to deter the daimyo of the world..."

Sakai Tadakatsu's words, but they were not recognized by the Great Imperial Palace, Xiuzhong glanced at Sakai Tadashi coldly, and said: "With 6,000 troops, you can't defeat the opponent's 3,000 soldiers, which is also called a momentary negligence?" Now even the children in Edo Castle are singing that there are four heavenly kings in Suruga, all of whom are brave and good at fighting, and they have defeated the shogunate army.

However, you have been discussing it for so long, and you have so lightly put the responsibility for the defeat on the unfavorable command of Shigemasa Itakura and the inability of the feudal soldiers to cooperate in the battle? Where did all these iron cannons come from? Why their iron cannons are better than the shogunate's, and why they don't need a fire rope, do you find a reason for these problems? ”

Sakai Tadakatsu was speechless, and pressed his head tightly on the tatami mat, not daring to defend himself again. Matsudaira Nobutsuna had to speak out to calm the anger of the Great Imperial Palace and said: "Actually, it's not that the ministers haven't found any clues, but this kind of speculation is unconfirmed, and it is really difficult to report it to the general and the Lord of the Great Imperial Palace. ”

Xiuzhong looked at this Jiaguang's henchman, finally restrained some of his anger, and said to him coldly: "What is difficult to report, even if it is a guess, it should be reported, otherwise how will the general make the right decision?" ”

Matsudaira Nobutsuna lowered his head and immediately said, "The ministers think that the iron cannon in the hands of the Suruga Army should be privately purchased from abroad.

Since the Osaka Incident, the Ming Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, and other southern barbarians have sent ultimatums to the shogunate, asking the shogunate to abandon the national closure order and religious prohibition order, stop the policy of suppressing the Zhizhi Dan, release the captured Cheshitan believers, and give compensation and other rude demands.

It is too much coincidence that these foreigners' ultimatum cooperated with His Highness Tadacho's troops, and it would be an unbelievable fact to say that His Highness had nothing to do with these foreigners.

It was precisely because the ministers considered the possible interference of the Ming Kingdom and the Southern Barbarians that they wanted to send troops to quell the rebellion between Junfu and Osaka as soon as possible..."