The easiest way to get from Edo to Kyoto is by sea.

However, the Japanese team that set out from Edo traveled by land. Along the coastline, Kyoto is 900 miles by land. Tokugawa Iemitsu stood on the Edo castle tower and watched the pampered family send-off procession.

He remembered that many years ago, he went to Kyoto with his father, and when he returned, he took over the position of Shogun. More than 20 years have passed since that day, and it still feels like yesterday.

And now, there is no him in this huge family sending team. The Han Emperor demanded that the royal family and all the feudal daimyo go to Kyoto to observe the ceremony, but he did not accompany him, citing his abdication and ill health. The Tokugawa family was worried that something bad would happen to them when they went to Kyoto.

The Han Chinese gave them a problem.

They offered to make peace, and the Han people agreed, and the only request they made was to send the queen to Kyoto for a wedding, and all the royal families, princesses, nobles, and feudal lords had to go to watch the ceremony. Whoever does not go will be deprived of their official position.

When the news came back, many of the shogunate vassals claimed that this was a trick by the Han Chinese, just to trick them into going to Kyoto to catch them all. If they really believe in the Han Chinese, they will be caught in the net.

But some people also pointed out that harmony is their intention, and if they refuse now, it will inevitably anger the Han people, and there is no room for turnaround.

As soon as the news broke, many daimyo expressed their willingness to send their relatives to Kyoto.

Tokugawa Iemitsu understood that people's hearts were in turmoil. Those daimyo had no intention of fighting, and once they found that the steps could be lowered, they rushed up impatiently, and no one hesitated.

The procession was quite large, all the members of the imperial family in Edo, as well as the nobles who had retreated to Edo, and the feudal daimyo in the east.

Even the 5,000 flags of the Tokugawa family. They all joined the send-off team.

The entire procession reached a staggering 200,000 people, and if it weren't for Tokugawa Iemitsu's clear understanding of the attitudes of the daimyo in that procession, he himself would have thought that this would be a westward expedition.

It was another battle of Sekigahara.

Fundamentally Liu Jun's will, Liu Yunsheng, the general of the conquest of the Japanese, served as the envoy to welcome his relatives, and took 20,000 elite Han elites to greet him in Guanyuan.

20,000 Han troops took up their positions. Greet in formation.

After traveling for half a month along the way, I came to the Japanese family send-off team in Sekigahara, looked at the Han army, and then looked at my own team, and suddenly felt a sense of powerlessness.

20,000 Han troops, but people have a feeling that they can't shake.

A Han lieutenant rode his horse from the formation and came to the front of the Japanese army.

Queens, princesses, nobles, and daimyos were allowed to go to Kyoto, but their samurai had to stay there.

Several daimyo refused to agree and bargained.

In the end, Yoo Yoon-seung agreed that all the daimyos, as well as the flagships and samurai who had more than 1,000 koku, could go to Kyoto. Each daimyo can also carry ten guards.

In Kyoto, Feng Sheng reported to Liu Jun.

"Your Majesty, the Queen of Japan, the daimyo of the feudal clans, and the flags and samurai of more than 1,000 koku have passed through Sekigahara and are coming to Kyoto. The 200,000 soldiers and horses of the various feudal clans who sent their relatives are currently stationed in the Kanto region. ”

Liu Jun motioned for Feng Sheng to sit down.

"Your Majesty, are you really going to marry the Queen of Japan?"

"Well, that's right." Liu Jun is eating a piece of moon cake, and the Mid-Autumn Festival has passed. However, mooncakes don't necessarily have to be eaten in the Mid-Autumn Festival. The taste of egg yolk mooncakes is very good, much more delicious than bean paste. The weather is getting cooler. Liu Jun was already planning to return to the Central Plains, but before leaving, he planned to end the matter here.

"It's not that I forced me to marry, it was the Japanese who took the initiative to propose, and the queen of Japan didn't disagree, and I heard that people are also good-looking. There's no reason not to say yes. ”

Feng Sheng felt that the emperor's words were very casual, this was not the answer he wanted, and he believed that the emperor definitely didn't really think like this.

"What about after marrying the Queen of Japan?"

"After that?" Liu Jun smiled, "Of course, at the request of the Japanese people, the Han Empire has since included Japan in the imperial territory." In the future, Japan can be established as Izumo and Fuso provinces. ”

"Huh?" Feng Sheng was surprised, "And then?" ”

"Your Majesty really plans to confer knighthood on the Daimyo of the Kanto region, so that they can continue to occupy the Kanto region?"

"As long as they are truly obedient to the empire and lead their people to join our empire, of course I don't mind dividing them as princes."

Feng Sheng felt that his brain was a little insufficient, so there was no need for this. The Han Dynasty can completely push off Japan and completely annex it, so why should you be polite to the Japanese at this time?

Is it because of the unfavorable situation in Central and South Africa?

Zheng Zhilong was appointed as the general of the expedition to the south, and was responsible for the war to destroy the Donghu Kingdom, which did not go well. After the Ayutthaya Kingdom retreated, the Donghu Kingdom was finally able to transfer the main force from the south to the north, and when they recruited Sha Dingzhou and other Yunnan Tusi, the internal stability was stable.

King Donghu somehow persuaded the southern ruler of the country, and through the marriage with the Zheng clan of the Later Lê Dynasty in Vietnam, he obtained the help of the Later Lê Dynasty.

The Donghu Kingdom unexpectedly resolved the unfavorable situation and rallied several allies to fight against the Han together.

Zheng Zhilong was surrounded by soldiers in Burma for a time, especially during the rainy season, the logistics ammunition and food could not be delivered, the roads were impassable, and the soldiers of the southern expedition did not adapt to the water and soil, an epidemic broke out, and more than 1,000 non-combat personnel were reduced, and the morale of the rest of the soldiers also plummeted, and they had to retire after retiring.

However, Feng Sheng felt that although the soldiers of the Southern Expedition did not achieve the planned big victory, it was only a small setback at the moment. The road from Guizhou to Myanmar will be completed immediately. At that time, many bridges and flint roads on this important passage will be opened to traffic, so countless grains, grasses, ammunition, and even reinforcements will continue to enter Burma.

Why, then, did the emperor rush to end the war in Japan?

The Queen of Japan and her entourage were escorted into Kyoto by the Han army.

Everything seems to be going in the direction that the Japanese want.

The officials of the Han Dynasty and the Japanese ministers discussed the ceremony of the wedding, and they soon reached an agreement, agreeing that the wedding should be held as soon as possible.

Tokugawa Yoshinao, the lord of the Tokugawa Imperial Three Clans, finally asked a question that the feudal lords were looking forward to.

"May I ask my lord, can His Majesty the Emperor issue an edict to confer knighthood on us?"

"This is the right thing to do, after the wedding, His Majesty will officially issue the edict."

Tokugawa Yoshinao's territory of the Owari Domain, just east of Kangahara in Mino, the domain city of Nagoya Castle, is a huge castle, built by Tokugawa Ieyasu back then, this time Tokugawa Iemitsu said that he was sick and did not come, although Shohito is the new head of the Tokugawa family in name, but Tokugawa Yoshinao is the real decision-maker in the team this time.

Tokugawa Yoshinao refused to wait until after the wedding, "My lord, we all hope that His Majesty the Emperor can issue an edict as soon as possible to confer knighthood on us, if it can be before the wedding, it would be the best, to be honest, we are a little uneasy." ”

"Your request, I will honor His Majesty the Emperor, as for whether it is possible, please wait for the notice."

Only half a day later, the Han official came over to inform Tokugawa Yoshinao and the others.

"Your Majesty has considered your request, and in order to show your sincerity to you, Your Majesty has agreed to confer knighthood on you before the wedding."

"Please prepare, tomorrow will be the official conferment ceremony."

As soon as the Han officials left, Tokugawa Yoshinao and the others felt a little unbelievable, which was also too smooth. The Han people did not bargain at all about their demands.

"My lord, is there any fraud in this?"

Tokugawa thought about it for a while, and finally could only say, "Let's take a step and see a step." ”

The next day, the conferment ceremony was held on time.

The feudal lords of Japan were sung in turn, and then the edict was read out by Han officials.

Tokugawa Yoshinao heard that he had been crowned the founding earl of Mino, and was granted 610,000 stone lands in Mino Province and other places. His own territory and stone height remain the same as before. What has changed is that his official identity is no longer the daimyo of the Owari Domain, but the founding count of Mino of the Han Empire.

There is no reduction in the seal, less in the transfer, it is too hard to believe.

The only thing that made Tokugawa Yoshinao a little dissatisfied was that the Han Emperor did not appear at such an important conferral ceremony. But the edict he got was stamped with the jade seal of the Han Empire.

Now that there is an official edict of separation, it seems that this matter will not be a problem.

On the same day, the lords of the Kanto region with more than 10,000 koku were awarded the title of Bozi and Baron, and those with less than 10,000 koku and more than 1,000 koku were awarded the title of lord. Those who are less than 1,000 koku and more than 100 koku are given the title of samurai.

Their fiefdom is still its original fiefdom.

With the edict in hand, these lords of Japan are much more confident.

"Let's prepare for the wedding, since the emperor has already given us the edict, then we don't have to delay any longer, finish the wedding early, and we will go back early."

One of the lords sighed, "From now on, we will all be vassals of the Han Kingdom, and part of the annual tribute in this year's territory will have to be handed over to the emperor." ”

Another daimyo said with some distraction, "In the past, we were feudal vassals of the shogunate, and we had to pay annual tribute to the shogunate. Now that the shogunate is gone, it is just a matter of handing over the money and grain to the Japanese governor. ”

"Then let's get ready for the wedding." Tokugawa Yoshinao said impatiently.

When they accepted the title of Emperor of the Han Empire, it meant that Japan had been completely incorporated into the Han Empire.

Japan is gone, and the Tokugawa family's Edo shogunate naturally no longer exists. He, Tokugawa Yoshinao, is no longer one of the three Tokugawa imperial families, and now he only hopes that the Emperor of the Han Dynasty will be able to speak his word and keep his promises.

Three days later, the wedding was held, which was quite lively, and under the witness of the soldiers of the Han Empire's Eastern Expedition and the Japanese ministers and nobles and daimyo lords, the eighteen-year-old King Xingzi, the former emperor of Japan, officially married the emperor of the Han Empire.

When the wedding was completed, the emperor gave a banquet, and the whole of Kyoto was in a state of hustle and bustle. (To be continued.) )