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In the three days that the Mawei warriors swept through the Satsuma Domain, the news of the extermination of the Satsuma Domain was also spreading to the northern daimyo at a rapid speed. The day after the Mawei army attacked Kagoshima Castle, the news was obtained through the two daimyos of the Ito clan and the Xiang Liang clan, which were the closest to the Satsuma domain, but it was not clear what the outcome would be. When they received accurate news of the destruction of the Shimazu family, they were very nervous, for fear that Geng Jingzhong would send troops to attack them. One after another, troops were dispatched to take strict precautions at the border with the Satsuma Domain, and at the same time sent people to Edo to report the news.

It was also when the Mawei Navy set sail for Edo that Tokugawa Ietsuna, the fourth shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate, Tokugawa Ietsuna, also received a report from the two daimyos. Although he was not good at military affairs, he also knew that this was a big deal, so he hurriedly summoned several auxiliary ministers to discuss.

Tokugawa Ietsuna, the fourth shogun of the shogunate, was the second son of Tokugawa Iemitsu, the third shogun, and his mother was also a side room, and since his eldest brother died shortly after birth, he became the heir. The young name is Takechiyo, and he was raised like a son.

When Geng Jingzhong first got the information about the Tokugawa shogunate, he was very familiar with the name Takechiyo. Later generations have seen a little bit of island country cartoons often appear this name, and I have always thought that this name is very ordinary, just like China's Zhang San, Li Si, Wang Er, Mazi is widely used. In fact, this is not the case, and the three characters Takechiyo were only used for the young lord of the Tokugawa shogunate at this time. Since the young name of the first shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu was Takechiyo, only the young lord who was considered to be a shogun from an early age was named Takechiyo. Later. Sometimes the first son also takes the name Takechiyo.

Now this shogun Tokugawa Ietsuna is only twenty-eight years old. He is only three years older than Geng Jingzhong. His father, Tokugawa Iemitsu, died early. When he was ten years old, he received the shogun's proclamation in Edo Castle. After the death of Tokugawa Iemitsu, the attempted ronin riot occurred, and the society was unstable, but the incident was resolved thanks to the assistance of his uncle Masayuki Hoshina and the elder Sakai Tadakatsu, the elder Matsudaira Nobutsuna, and Abe Tadaaki.

Tokugawa Ietsuna's own abilities are not outstanding. But there are several powerful and loyal subordinates. At Hoshina Masayuki, Sakai Tadakatsu, Matsudaira Nobutsuna, and Abe Tadaaki, the authority of the entire shogunate rose day by day, and its strength became stronger and stronger. His father, Tokugawa Iemitsu, advocated the use of force, but he was different and changed it to Bunji. The most obvious one is the prohibition of martyrdom.

The Japanese people are so special that sometimes they will commit suicide and die by disembowelment because they have lost their positions, or are ashamed of being captured or humiliated. They assert that the human soul rests in the womb; Therefore, when it was necessary for the samurai to reveal their souls to the outside world, they resorted to the method and ritual of disemboweling their souls to show the public. Tokugawa Ietsuna felt that this method was too inhumane and ordered a ban. Although he gave the order, he did not stop the trend. Caesarean section is still very popular. However, only this action. It can be seen that Tokugawa Ietsuna is different from his father.

Masayuki Hoshina, Tadashi Sakai, Nobutsuna Matsudaira, and Tadaaki Abe were all important ministers who assisted Tokugawa Ietsuna. However, Sakai Tadakatsu and Matsudaira Nobutsuna had died seven years ago, leaving only Masayuki Hoshina and Tadaaki Abe, who happened to be literate and martial, and both were capable generals of the previous shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu. Most of the affairs of the entire Tokugawa shogunate were handled by the two of them, that is, they were the actual rulers of the Tokugawa shogunate. However, because these two people were also very loyal, and as they got older, Tokugawa Ietsuna's easy days gradually decreased, and many things had to be handled by himself.

The Tokugawa Iezuna, who has a good face and a handsome appearance, is carefully studying the reports of the two daimyos, the Ito clan and the Xiang Liang clan, and is considering how he should deal with this matter.

The guard whispered at the door: "General, the elder Hoshina Masayuki and the old middle Abe Tadaaki have arrived. ”

Tokugawa Ietssuna raised his head and commanded in a low voice, "Please!" ”

After bowing at the door, the two entered and sat down cross-legged. Tokugawa Ietsuna's uncle, the elder Hoshina Masayuki, was the first to speak: "General, I heard that the two daimyos of the Ito clan and the Xiang Liang clan have sent an urgent report, saying that there are Qing warships attacking the Satsuma Domain, and the Satsuma Domain has been completely wiped out?" Is this true? ”

"It's true, this is their recital, let's take a look!" As Tokugawa Ietsuna spoke, he handed the two copies of the report to Masayuki Hoshina and Abe Tadaaki, and Lianren hurriedly stretched out his thin palm like a chicken claw to take it.

The two of them each opened the newspaper and read it carefully, but the report was not detailed, they did not know that it was the Fujian Mawei Army that attacked the Shimazu family, and only thought that it was the Qing army that attacked. The number of Geng Jia's army mentioned in the report is also different, one says that there are more than 300 Western sail warships, with a total strength of 60,000 or 70,000 people; One says that there are only more than 100 Western sail warships, and there are only 30,000 or 40,000 people. At the same time, it also shows that the attacking troops were very strong, and the Shimazu family only lasted two days before the entire army was annihilated.

"Oh?" Masayuki Baoke was slightly moved, and asked in a deep voice: "Western warship? Is it the Dutch kind of Western warship? ”

Tokugawa Ietsuna nodded and said, "Only one person who reported that he said that it was very similar to the Dutch battleship, but it was much larger than the sail warship docked in Nagasaki, and there were many guns on board. ”

Although Masayuki Hoshina and Tadaaki Abe sat still with solemn expressions, they were shocked in their hearts. Since escaping the large-scale invasion of the Yuan Mongols by relying on the 'kamikaze', the vassals of the Wa Kingdom have been extremely sensitive to foreign invasions, and the shogunate is no exception. The Manchus had just ruled the world, and they also sent envoys to ask them to pay tribute, wanting to include their Wa state in the suzerainty system like Korea, but they refused. This time, the Qing army pressed the border, it seems that the comer is not good!

"That's not right, I've never heard that the Qing Kingdom has Western sail warships, but the Geng family, the king of Jingnan in Fujian, in the south of the Qing Dynasty, has built a batch of Western warships in the past two years, is it the army of the king of Jingnan of the Qing State who came to attack?" Abe Tadaaki was in charge of military power, and he knew more about the surrounding maritime situation, and immediately raised his doubts.

More than three years ago, King Jingnan of the Qing Dynasty was building Western-style warships at the Mawei Shipyard in Fujian, and they soon got the news and brought it to their attention. The year before, the Geng family's navy had been clearing the East China Sea of pirates, and they didn't take it seriously. After all, pirates are inherently stragglers and vulnerable in their eyes, but they didn't expect this Mawei Navy to hit their house!

After a long silence, Bao Ke Zhengzhi spoke: "Are Zhongqiu Jun sure that it is the army of King Jingnan of the Qing Kingdom?" The army of King Jingnan of the Qing Kingdom and the army of the Qing Kingdom are very different! ”

"There should be no mistake, the Qing State does not have Western warships. It can only be Fujian's Mawei Navy! Abe Tadaaki said in a deep voice, he is not an ordinary person, he assisted two generations of generals of the Tokugawa family, and he is erudite and knowledgeable, and he can be called a generation of Confucian generals in the Wa Kingdom.

"Well, if that's the case, our strategy for treating them will be different!" Baoke Masayuki's brows stretched slightly, and he said with a smile: "These two reports seem to be more credible than the Ito clan, and the total number of troops of the Geng family in Fujian is only more than 30,000, even if some are mobilized, it will definitely not exceed 50,000." No matter how strong the combat strength is, such a small number of troops are no match for the hundreds of thousands of samurai of our country. Please give the order of the Shogun to have the various daimyo of Kyushu Island gather their troops on the outskirts of the Satsuma Domain, and then destroy the Geng family soldiers who remained in Kagoshima Castle! ”

"That's for sure, but I'm worried that their fleet will come and invade Edo, so what?" Tokugawa Ietsuna said worriedly.

Abe Tadaaki said lightly: "If the Manchu army comes to attack, we need to worry, after all, the Manchu and Yuan and Mongolia are both nomads, and the desire for land is endless. But the army of King Jingnan of the Qing Kingdom is different, they don't have enough troops to swallow us, so I estimate that the Geng family should have a grudge against the Shimazu family, as if the Shimazu family brought a lot of trouble to the Geng family's Mawei Navy two years ago! ”

Masayuki Hoshina pondered for a moment before saying, "In any case, we can't take it lightly, and first order the major names of Kyushu Island to gather forces and drive the enemy out." The Shimazu family's sailors are no worse than ours, but the Shimazu family is still destroyed, so our sailors must also find ways to strengthen them, so as not to attack the Geng family's navy, and we have no strength to fight. ”

Abe Tadaaki nodded and said, "I will order the sailors to strengthen their patrols, and at the same time order to strengthen the defenses of Edo, Osaka, Kyoto and other places. ”

Masayuki Hoshina continued: "Zhongqiu-kun, please also inform the army in the city to prepare at the same time, just in case. ”

"I will!"

Soon, under the operation of Abe Tadaaki, the whole of Edo began to move, but only to the naval division of Edo and the 30,000 army samurai troops stationed outside the city. Tokugawa Ietsuna's order was also conveyed, and the messenger hurried to Kyushu Island, preparing for the combined forces of the various daimyo on Kyushu Island to drive out the Mawei army, preferably to eliminate it.

Located at the end of Japan's largest plain, the Kanto Musashi Plain, Edo's name is derived from the Ainu language, which roughly means "gate of the bay" or "mouth of the river", and is very similar to Kagoshima Castle in that it is located against the bay. From the map, Edo Bay and Kagoshima Bay are like two twins, and they look very similar, and even Edo Castle and Kagoshima Castle are located in the same place, both on the west shore of the bay.

Just when Abe Tadaaki began to prepare, the battleships of the Mawei Navy were already less than eighty kilometers away from Edo Bay! (To be continued......)

PS: Time is of the essence!