In the last battle between Kyushu and the shogunate, the main forces invested by both sides totaled 170,000, but in fact, the troops invested by both sides were far more than this number, and the Kyushu army mobilized almost all the navy into this campaign, and also mobilized nearly 200,000 people, and the shogunate not only mobilized 100,000 people, but also organized a team of 50,000 ronin.

The first large-scale battle was fought at Iwatsuki Castle, with the Kyushu Army committing a total of 40,000 men and the shogunate 30,000. The Kyushu army, relying on its superiority in firearms and numbers, defeated the shogunate's army at Iwatsuki Castle, and many people were killed in battle, such as the old middle Abe Tadaaki, the lord of the Iwatsuki domain, Abe Dinggao, and others.

The shogunate army was forced to retreat to Edo Castle.

On the evening of March 6, Masayuki Hoshina convened a final military meeting in Edo. In response to the shogunate's lack of troops, Sakai Tadakatsu proposed to concentrate his forces and fight the Kyushu Army in a decisive battle north of Edo Castle, and this proposal was supported by Masayuki Hoshina.

On March 7, the final battle began. The two sides did their best to fight to the death. Sixty-eight-year-old Sakai Tadakatsu personally led his army straight into Zheng Sen's Chinese army, hoping to take Zheng Sen's head in one fell swoop and defeat the Kyushu army. Although the number of Zheng Sen's Chinese army is only 20,000, it is the elite unit of the Kyushu army, and the left and right Wuwei battalions, the left and right tiger guard battalions, and the Xiaocai battalions are all in the Chinese army.

Under the leadership of Sakai Tadakatsu, although the shogunate army was not afraid of death, it could not get the slightest advantage in the face of the Kyushu army, which had the advantage of equipment. After three consecutive rounds of attacks by the shogunate, the dragoons of the cavalry battalion launched a counterattack.

Sakai Tadakatsu's army suffered heavy losses after several rounds of attacks. In the face of the counterattack of the dragoons, the shogunate army was defeated one after another. By about one o'clock in the afternoon, the Kyushu army had achieved a decisive victory, the shogunate army was routed, Sakai Tadakatsu was killed in battle, and Sakai Tadakatsu's head was captured by the Kyushu army.

News of Sakai's death quickly spread across the battlefield, and the morale of the shogunate army was even lowered, and the army organized by the ronin was the first to be defeated, and the ronin abandoned their armor and fled in all directions. The shogunate army was routed on all fronts. The remnants of the shogunate retreated to Edo Castle.

The morale of the Kyushu army was high, and they took advantage of the situation to attack Edo Castle, and the Utsuo in Edo Castle also began to set fire everywhere in the castle, and the entire Edo Castle was ablaze. In less than an hour, the Kyushu army broke through Edo Castle.

By about 4 p.m., the Kyushu army had entered the imperial city.

In the evening, the largest five-story castle tower in the Edo shogunate period was drenched in flames, which could be seen miles away.

"My lord, the Tokugawa family has been conferred the head, and the two of Tokugawa Tsunashige and Tokugawa Tsunayoshi have not been found for the time being."

"Keep looking, and no one from the Tokugawa family will be spared. In addition, the order was issued to seal off the whole city until two people were found. Zheng Sen ordered.

……

Edo was the political center of the country, and the daimyo from all over the country were involved in the confession, and countless riches were piled up in the castle. And for the Kyushu army, such a thing as rape and plunder is no longer a one-time thing, which makes the process of finding Tokugawa Tsunashige and Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, the ten daimyo yashiki were destroyed, and countless tragedies were staged in the city.

It wasn't until late at night that the Kyushu Army found Tokugawa Tsunashige and Tokugawa Tsunayoshi in a warehouse.

In the early morning of March 8, Zheng Sen ordered the prohibition of all acts of smashing, looting, burning, rape and plunder, and at the same time issued a notice to reassure the people.

On March 15, Zheng Zhilong ordered the execution of all the male members of the Tokugawa family, including the retainers of the Tokugawa family and their younger families, and Tokugawa Tsunashige and Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, who were only a few years old, were not spared. This order resulted in the execution of as many as 17,000 people.

The fall of Edo, the demise of the Tokugawa family, and the reunification of Toei were finally reunited. However, Dongying practiced a political system that completely separated the military from the government, and this political system also left a bane.

After the reunification of Dongying, Dongying soon sent an envoy to pay tribute to confirm the vassal relationship.

"Your Majesty, the head of the mission is Zheng Sen, but Emperor Yoshihito is mixed in with the mission under other names."

"When Liangren arrives in Jingshi, make arrangements." Zhu Youxiao said.

"No."

……

Zhu Youxiao summoned Liangren in the Qianqing Palace, and the father and son met for the first time.

"Your Majesty, the minister wants to be surnamed Zhu." Liangren said suddenly.

"The emperor of Dongying has no surname, Zhu is the surname of the country, so I will make a holy decree to give you the surname Zhu." Zhu Youxiao agreed.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, Longen!"

"You can't blame me for not taking care of your mother and son, do you?" Zhu Youxiao asked.

"No, it won't. The Queen Mother never blames you. In today's position, the minister understands His Majesty's choice back then. ”

"Since ancient times, kings have been lucky, and they are the most ruthless emperors. I am not a good husband, nor am I a good father. ”

"But Your Majesty is a good emperor, the Queen Mother once said that when Your Majesty succeeded to the throne, the empire was full of holes, the wind and rain were shaking, and the building was about to fall.

"Have you ever wondered why I didn't send troops directly to Dongying?" Zhu Youxiao asked.

"I thought about it, I didn't understand it before, but after I came to the empire, the minister understood."

"Tell me about it."

"Back then, His Majesty should not have the ability to send troops to Dongying, so he thought about supporting Yan Siqi."

"That's true, Dongying is far away from the empire, and the people of Dongying are not in the empire, if you forcibly send troops to Dongying, you need the strength of the whole country, I believe that you can occupy Dongying, but you can't rule Dongying, it will take decades, this is a war with no return on investment, and Yan Siqi's character is good, so I thought of the next way."

"Dongying is just a small land, and the output is less than one-ten-thousandth of the empire, if you can control Dongying at the lowest cost, it is indeed the best choice."

"Today, the empire has the ability to send troops to Dongying, do you want me to send troops to Dongying?"

"I don't want to. His Majesty and the Queen Mother have done their best for the ministers, and the rest should be left to the ministers. Liangren said without hesitation.

"You are very smart, Cijiong, Cijiong, Cixuan and other princes see that there is only one position under my buttocks."

"The dragon gave birth to nine sons, each with its own good. The ministers and they stand in different positions, and naturally have different views. ”

"Do you see this map behind me?" Zhu Youxiao asked, pointing to the world map behind him.

"The minister saw it, and after the minister was going back, he would also make a pair."

"This place is called Africa by Westerners, the land is vast, dozens of times the size of Dongying, but there is no decent country, in the future, Dongying can focus here, and even if it is possible, the capital can be moved here." Zhu Youxiao suggested.

"Your Majesty's suggestion will be considered."

(End of chapter)