I picked up the wooden spoon again and scooped a spoonful of tea from the pot and filled the cup for him, then myself. "The demolition of castles is a way to limit the military development of the daimyo in various places, but it is not necessarily the only way. The daimyo who had experienced a long war seemed to think that it was safe to live in the castle, so they would do everything possible to ask for it to be preserved. As everyone knows, even Odawara is not insured, so what else can be guaranteed? ”

Xinqing picked up the teacup and took a sip, then nodded silently.

I glanced at him and knew that he didn't quite agree with me, and that he had also valued the role of castles as a traditional samurai. "So if I were to do it, I would let them perform it fully, and then they would use the means when they were almost done. And my approach is not to force them to tear down the castles, but to guide them to build more if possible! "I didn't directly point out the error of his thinking, and sometimes I had to let him figure it out more for himself.

"Oh......" Shinkiyo looked at me with a stunned gaze, as if he didn't know me.

"Don't be so surprised, I'm not crazy!" I smiled at him, then put down the teacup in my hand and wiped my mouth. "I will also make a word beforehand that I intend to demolish most of the castles in the country, and that everyone will be convinced that this measure will begin at once. Naturally, the daimyos will not be so happy, and will definitely find some way to resist this matter, and I will make a play to show them, first to refute, then to hesitate, and finally to let them write their own reasons, and explain how many castles are suitable for their respective territories, and which ones to keep......"

"If that's the case, won't it end up messing up?" Xinqing interrupted me with some excitement, forgetting basic etiquette for a moment. If it weren't for me, he'd probably denounce it as a psychopath. "The daimyo will surely come up with a bunch of justifications for each castle, and maybe even add a lot of things that didn't exist in the first place. In this way, it is not approved or not, and the approval of the place will increase the instability of the place for no reason, and if you do not approve it, you will take the initiative to ask for advice, and if you do not consider it, the reputation and prestige of the shogunate will plummet! ”

"Batch, why not? I've always cherished my reputation! "I laughed out loud when I saw him, and he still looked like a child at this time." Since they are so eager to work for the country, I naturally have no reason to refute their 'good intentions', but since this is a major event to stabilize the world as they say, the shogunate naturally cannot blindly sit on the sidelines! ”

"Oh......" Hearing me say this, Xinqing finally seemed to understand.

"I will not only agree to the opinions of those daimyo, but also announce them to everyone in the world!" I smugly told him that it seemed like I had already won another game of chess in YY. "Since their precious castles are so important to the stability of the world, I must not only approve them 'according to the people's will', but also send someone to supervise the strict implementation. for those who cannot afford to repair the castle within the time limit; repaired but not up to the expected requirements; If the existing castle is not well maintained, I will be very generous and give them a one-year period to remedy it, and if they can't do it, they will blame me! ”

"So you can justifiably reclaim these places!" Xinqing also understood, and laughed knowingly.

"I don't know that if I want to take it back, I will have to send someone to guard it!" I clasped my hands over my shoulders and smiled coldly, as if those big names were right in front of me. "I will take back the castles and the small area around them, and give them to my banners, and I will pay for the construction and maintenance of the castles, and the income from them will be left to them for the soldiers' salaries. Now those daimyo who have lost a large amount of resource income, even if they want to maintain so many castles, it is not easy to maintain them to the best state, how long can they last even if they have more old capital? I will use this method to kill them little by little, and they will not only hit their feet, but also break their heads when they lift this stone to resist the ruined city! ”

"Father's ingenuity is really incredible...... It's incredible! Speaking of this, Xinqing suddenly thought of something, and asked tentatively: "Then am I ......?"

"You don't have to, it's good to continue with the current situation!" I shook my head and dismissed his thoughts. "You and I are on different terms, and your prestige is far from me. So what you have to do now is to show that you are strong and make everyone afraid of you, and you don't have to do all that extraneous stuff. After the implementation of the new currency, the recovery of minerals, and the reclamation of the land, the general trend of the world has basically been decided, and now even without me, no one will easily rebel. However, there are some things that should not be taken lightly, especially not to underestimate the resilience of those old guys. Those daimyo families, especially those with glorious traditions in the Warring States period, their fame alone is an incalculable resource. Times are changing, but these families will also change, and even in a few hundred years, a new 'banner' may be formed! ”

"Father is very worried, and now there are signs of this!" Nobukiyo also turned to me and said to me very seriously: "Shimazu, Otomo and Mori will not talk about him, although their territories have changed in the last few years of the war, after all, they are not too far away, and the old influence is difficult to eliminate at once. Now the strangest thing for me is the Tokugawa family, which has taken root in Mutsu for nearly 20 years, and now its influence in that country has surpassed that of the traditional Dada family. If it is not suppressed, I am afraid that in more than ten years, the Northeast may form a new source of division! ”

"Tokugawa Ieyasu!" I silently pronounced the name in my mouth, as if a heavy millstone was rolling through my heart.

Over the years, I have done one major thing after another, such as the construction of Osaka, the establishment of the shogunate, the reform of the currency system, the second land seizure, and the recovery of minerals, all of which need a stable environment, but it seems that this old boy is not idle. Just because I don't move him doesn't mean I can't or don't want to touch him, it seems that it's time to fix him!

"How's Tokugawa Kiyotada's situation going?" I asked slowly.

"At present, it is still a rule!" Xinqing immediately replied, and it seemed that he was also paying attention at all times. "Tokugawa Kiyotadashi spent two years in Osaka before returning to Mutsu. Because his father gave him special permission to take the position of Japanese Imperial Forbidden Lieutenant in his place, he stayed there all the time, but sometimes he came over once in place of his father! ”

"Hmm!" I nodded, I really hadn't heard of him having any special abilities. "How is Tokugawa Tsuneyasu doing in Kyoto?" I asked again.

"It's very low-key, and it's good to have a good reputation among the famous children of Kyoto!" Xinqing thought for a moment and added: "According to the report of the people sent to him, Hengkang's literary talents and martial arts are quite attained, and he is courteous to anyone but not pretentious, and there is no sign of deliberately keeping his head in obscurity. There were several times when Honto's second-class Tokugawa veteran came to and faintly expressed sympathy when he went to visit him! ”

"As long as he does his duty, let's stay in Kyoto like this for now!" I didn't say anything else, but I guess I can already tell from my expression that I am satisfied with Tokugawa Hengyasu.

"Although Kiyoyasu is still knowledgeable about current affairs from all aspects, he is still from the Tokugawa family after all......" Shinkiyo said with a slight suspicion that he had misunderstood what I meant.

I looked at him again, then lowered my eyelids. "Those who have achieved great things should be open-minded and don't worry about some small things. In any case, Heng Kang is the son-in-law of His Royal Highness Ikeda after all, and he should still take care of it! ”

"Oh...... Be! Although it was still difficult to agree with my decision, Xin Xin Qing agreed.

"Alas! His Royal Highness Tokugawa has always been suspicious of His Royal Highness Kiyoyasu, and it is naturally inconvenient for us to say anything as outsiders, but we can't just look at it like that. I sighed and said, looking very "annoyed". "This makes their father and son separate from each other for a long time, which is even more unhelpful to solve the problem, since it is inconvenient for Hengyasu to go back to Mutsu, then he will transfer His Royal Highness Tokugawa over. When you go back, you will send a stamp to the imperial court and ask that His Royal Highness Tokugawa Ieyasu be appointed as the prince's attendant to Kyoto! ”

"Yes, Erchen will do it when he goes back!" Xinqing nodded and then asked. "When Tokugawa Ieyasu arrives in Kyoto, do you want to meet him?"

"Is this necessary?" I looked at my son and sighed in my heart. As a successor, he is already quite good, but the knowledge he has learned is not the same as the instinct exercised in the struggle. Now it seems that I have to come up with that plan as a veteran, and hopefully this is the last time I will do it myself...... Oh, at least once!

"Father...... Father? Seeing that I was holding the cup but not drinking, and looking out of the window with a strong look, Xinqing couldn't help but scream twice.

"Oh...... Nothing! I shook my head vigorously, wondering if it was a sign of aging. It's been a dull day lately, and I'm really looking for something to do. After so many years of silence, maybe many people have forgotten about me! ”

"Father wants to go out for a walk? That's a good thing! Xinqing was also very happy to hear me say this, and hurriedly asked: "Do you want to hold a tea party or hunt, but it will take some time to gather the world's great names!" ”

"You don't have to bother so much, I've already started the arrangement." I stretched my body as if I was doing gymnastics, and made a big gesture. "I'm so tired from both the tea party and the hunting that I don't have the energy to do that. I think that in the past hundred years, the forces of Buddhism have always frequently caused turmoil in the world, and now is the time for me to tease them! ”

"Why are you ......" Xinqing was also interested when he heard it, and was about to ask when the door rang twice.

"Lord Qiqi: There is news from Yamashita that someone from Kyoto is coming, I don't know if you will see it!"

Bear in Winter: Since the Toyotomi regime was not established according to the original trajectory, it is natural that the name of Tokugawa Hidetada will not appear again, so in this book his name is Tokugawa Kiyotada.