While the Japanese imperial court was worried about how to deal with the Han Dynasty, the Tokugawa shogunate, which was far away in Edo, was also saddened by this problem. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

However, unlike the jubilant court, they were shrouded in a gloomy cloud.

It's about to rain.

The dark clouds obscured the sky, and the sunlight could only penetrate the ground weakly, bringing little light, and it was noon, but it seemed as if it was almost night.

Under this thick dark cloud, the originally prosperous Edo Castle seemed very deserted and even a little bleak. The feeling of depression before the heavy rain made everyone's face lose their smiles, and only unspeakable boredom remained.

Of course, this kind of boredom is not only brought by the downpour in the future, but what is even more unbearable is the news of the Han entering Kyushu.

The news had reached Edo the other day, and it caused an extreme sensation at the time, followed by general anxiety.

The Han soldiers are very strong, and the weapons used are even more advanced, and this time they must be prepared, how should the shogunate deal with it next?

These questions are on everyone's mind.

Edo Castle is the main castle carefully managed by the Tokugawa shogunate, which contains the residence of the shogun, the army of the shogunate, and the dependents of the people of the shogunate.

People whispered with concern for themselves and their loved ones. The martial arts of the Great Han over the years of attacking everywhere and attacking the Quartet have also been mentioned by these people again and again, and every time they are mentioned, this worry is even more aggravated.

And these problems, these anxieties, all converged in the center of Edo Castle, in the inner city where the shogun lived, and then turned into an inextricable quagmire, making it impossible for almost everyone in the audience to get out.

In the inner castle temple, the important officials of the shogunate gathered here to discuss the affairs as they usually did when something important happened, but the atmosphere today was particularly strange, everyone was as gloomy as the dark clouds in the sky, and no one spoke, and the atmosphere was solemn and depressing, making everyone feel anxious in the summer heat.

The shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu, sat on his knees in the deepest part of the temple, as usual, and he silently watched the retainers below, as if waiting for them to come up with a strategy for him, but every time he glanced over the face of a retainer, the retainer only showed a look of overwhelmed panic, and did not dare to make eye contact with him or speak.

This strange silence made everyone very uncomfortable, and the anger and resentment in Tokugawa Iemitsu's heart gradually reached the peak of boiling.

"Usually you talk about it here, as if all the major events in the world are in the palm of your hand, why are you all silent clay puppets today?!" I don't know how long it took, but he finally couldn't bear it anymore and said, "Have you all been scared out of your soul?" Don't you have a little foresight? ”

As he spoke, his gaze became more and more severe, and the important ministers who were familiar with the Shogun's temperament certainly knew how angry the Shogun was now, and how terrible it would be if he vented his anger - if he didn't say anything more, I am afraid that someone's life would be lost.

The old man Ii Naotaka, who has been silent, suddenly became the focus of his eyes in secret. He frowned slightly uneasily.

As the elder, he was the highest person in the entire power system of the shogunate, except for the shogun, with high prestige and power, and at this moment, it was indeed up to him to express his position and let the entire shogunate work together to overcome this biggest difficulty in decades.

But he was reluctant to speak.

This war was indeed completely unexpected by him, and it was also something he did not want to see at all.

From the very beginning, he was unwilling to allow problems in the relationship between the shogunate and the Han side, so he took a moderate stance on the trade between the two countries, but it backfired, and eventually the original trade dispute developed to this point and turned into a stormy sea.

In his opinion, even if the Han is extremely dissatisfied, they will not stir up a force for a trade issue, and even if they want to fight, they will not do it so quickly, and there will be a long trade negotiation between the two countries, as long as the shogunate makes some concessions, everything will return to the status quo ante.

Because he didn't think in advance that Dahan would directly march into the army, he is now at a loss like others and can't come up with any good ideas.

But the general is now waiting for a suggestion, and as an elder, he can't hide from it.

"The Divine Monarch and the previous shogun have trusted and promoted us for many years, taught us earnestly, and asked us to assist the shogun......" After a long silence, he finally spoke, "However, over the years, we have been vainly gracious, but we have not made a great achievement, and now such a great event has happened, which has caused great losses to our country and the shogunate, and we and others, as auxiliary ministers, bear a great responsibility...... I'm really ashamed of the general, ashamed of the gods, and please punish us after everything is done! ”

After hearing his words, the atmosphere in the entire hall became even more depressing, especially the two old middle schools, Sakai Tadashi and Sakai Tadashi, whose faces became even more ugly, because they could all hear that they were not so much pleading for themselves, but accusing them of causing trouble to the world of the shogunate and punishing them.

Several of them are hardliners against the big Han, and now that they have caused such a big disaster, I am afraid that it will be difficult to escape the accusations from the top and bottom, and it will only depend on how they will be dealt with after the war.

"Of course, this is a critical time, we can't make internal trouble, and now we should all come together to get through this." After beating these hardliners for a few words, Naokaka Jing changed the topic back, after all, now is not the time to hold accountable, "Everyone knows that the army of the Han is very strong and the weapons are very advanced, so they are a strong enemy for us, and they should not be ignored. ”

"So what do you think the shogunate should do now?" Tokugawa Iemitsu stared at the elder and asked directly.

The fine beads of sweat on Naotaka Ii's face became even more, because he knew that his next words would definitely not please the general.

"According to the information that can be obtained now, the strength of the Han army is fierce, although Naito Tadashige has fiercely resisted in Kyushu, but it is still difficult to resist the Han Kou's troops, and the fall of Kyushu...... I'm afraid it's already a necessity......" His words became more and more difficult, and his breathing was very heavy.

Just two days earlier, the newly appointed Nagasaki commissioner, Soga Koyu, had fled back to Edo on the orders of the elder Naito Tadashige after the war with the Great Han, in order to report on the current war with the Han Kou. In his mouth, the shogunate officials had learned that the Han had fought several battles with the shogunate and feudal armies of Kyushu and had won easily, and had to face the cruel fact that the island of Kyushu might fall into the hands of the Han Kou.

Although the news that came out next was still vague, judging by the speed of the Han army's progress, I am afraid that most of Kyushu Island had now fallen, and Lao Zhong was already more than lucky—judging from the determination he had shown before, he would die for the shogunate once the situation was desperate.

Although Kyushu Island did not have many territories under the direct control of the shogunate, it fell so quickly at the hands of his own people, and he really didn't know how to face the spirit of the god king in the sky.

What's even more terrifying is that the Han's troops are not just pointing to Kyushu Island, they will definitely march further, where is next? Kyoto? Or Edo? No one knew for sure, and the only thing that was certain was that the calamity that the shogunate had never encountered since its establishment had now befallen everyone.

Sure enough, after hearing the judgment that Kyushu was about to fall into the hands of the enemy, Tokugawa Iemitsu's face twitched suddenly, and then his fists clenched, as if he was about to choose someone to devour.

"Kyushu has fallen, and it is difficult for us to send a large army to rescue us now, so I am afraid that it will fall into the hands of Han Kou for a long time in the future." Although he knew that the general was already extremely angry, as the elder, Naotaka Jing couldn't care so much in the current situation.

"However, the situation is not hopeless for us. The Han Dynasty will definitely spend countless resources and money to maintain a large army - the Han Dynasty was originally a new dynasty, and they will definitely not be able to bear it for a long time, as long as we continue to persist and consume time, there will eventually be a day when the Han Dynasty will not be able to bear the consumption and retreat on its own initiative. ”

Although they knew that the elder was trying to boost everyone's morale, the general and the others couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"In this war, the Han has the advantage of armor, but we have the right time and place, as long as we are united, we don't have to be afraid of the Han Kou." Naotaka Ii continued, "The most important thing for us to do is to keep Honshu Island and not give the Han a chance to fight for war, but to keep investing resources to consume until they can't afford it. ”

"What do you mean, we just sit back and watch Kyushu fall, and then stay here and don't move?" Tokugawa Iemitsu's brow furrowed again.

"Your Excellency, Your Majesty also hopes that we can immediately expel the Han Kou and restore all the land in Japan...... But now that the Han Kou's forces are so strong, how many troops do we need to send? Lakh? Two hundred thousand? Not to mention whether such an army can drive out the Han Kou, and even if we can, how long can we supply them with the strength of the whole country? If we fight like this, our geographical advantage will be completely lost, and it will become a joint consumption of national and financial resources by the two countries, which is an extremely unwise act for us. Naodaka Ii gave a rare direct answer to the Shogun's inquiry.

"Besides, Kyushu is an island, and the gunboats of the Great Han are really not the enemy of the shogunate's sea power, so how can we feed the army that goes to Kyushu to crusade? In His Majesty's opinion, we should stick to the island of Honshu. As long as the island of Honshu is defended, then Kyushu will naturally return to the hands of the shogunate. ”

Tokugawa Iemitsu was silent, his expression was so cold that no one could tell what he was thinking.

"Your Majesty supports the proposal of the old and middle adults!" At this moment, Lao Zhong's pen head Doi Toshikatsu suddenly spoke, "Lao Zhong's suggestion is the most important and the most beneficial way for us!" ”

His voice was very loud, and he changed his usual low-key style, and rarely made his attitude clear, and the audience was shocked for a while.

"Since ancient times, as long as the Central Plains Dynasty has temporarily rested, it will find ways to attack the Quartet and expand its territory, and the Han Kou are just imitating those previous dynasties, just like the Sui and Tang dynasties conquered Goryeo." Doi Toshikatsu ignored the gaze cast from the side and looked up at the general, "But whether it is Emperor Yang of Sui or Taizong of Tang, although they have conquered Goryeo several times, they have not finally defeated Goryeo, is it the disadvantage of the armor of Sui and Tang?" Or is their country in trouble? Or did they not conquer Goryeo's territory? No, it's neither, they fought every time, conquered a large part of Goryeo's territory, but in the end they had to retreat......"

Doi Toshikatsu seemed to be like a different person, and talked eloquently, "This is precisely because the Goryeo people have implemented the correct strategy, they don't care about the gains and losses of one city and one place, and when they should retreat and avoid, they will retreat and avoid, so that the distance will become the biggest enemy of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and every few steps the army advances, the difficulty of supply will increase by a few points, and finally they will consume themselves, and finally exhaust the national strength, and the army will have to retreat......"

With Doi Toshikatsu's explanation, not only Naotaka Ii nodded slightly, but even the others looked sideways at each other, feeling that he was very reasonable.

"So, Lord General, for the sake of the final victory, it is feasible and should be done for us to temporarily abandon Kyushu Island." Toshikatsu Doi raised his head and looked at Tokugawa Iemitsu, "Please also ask your lord to make a clear and prudent judgment for the sake of the Tokugawa world!" ”

Under everyone's gaze, Tokugawa Iemitsu's frown finally relaxed slightly, obviously, he was not furious with such a proposal.

"If the situation is like this, then it has to be done this way." He whispered.

As if unwillingly, he added, "However, we must hold on to this state, and we must not allow the Han Kou to invade and occupy more of our territory." ”

"Your Excellency the General is very true." Toshikatsu Doi lowered his head again, as if he was back in his usual state. "In order to prevent the Great Han from fighting to support the war, the anointed land of Kansai cannot fall into their hands for a short time, otherwise the shogunate will face an extremely difficult situation."

He did this just now, not taking a risk, but seeing that Tokugawa Iemitsu had actually obeyed the elder's proposal and wanted to give up Kyushu Island, but he couldn't let go of his face, so he stood up and gave the shogun a step down, so that this became the consensus of the important ministers, and the shogun only accepted it as a last resort.

After the speeches of the two core figures, Naotaka Ii and Toshikatsu Doi, the atmosphere in the Omoto Hall was finally no longer so depressing. The depth of the people's tension finally loosened a little.

After all, the highly prestigious elder and the chief of the elder have already pointed out a path to victory, at least so that everyone can see a little hope in the midst of panic.

"In that case, we will have to mobilize a large army and hold this state firmly." The old man Sakai Tadashi finally dared to speak now, "As long as we stabilize the Kyoto-Edo line, hold these two fundamental important places, and use the geographical advantages to resist the Han Kou, the Han Kou will still not be able to bear the huge consumption and losses after all, and will have to retreat." At the same time, we also need to make the daimyo who are still loyal to the shogunate on Kyushu stronghold the wall, destroy local production, and prevent the Han Koko from easily using the resources on Kyushu Island. ”

"But...... I'm afraid that some feudal lords won't obey their orders......" Naotaka Ii said with a solemn face.

With his words, he dragged the temple back into depression.

Yes, according to the news brought back by Soga Koyu, the reason why the shogunate army and the feudal army that supported the shogunate were defeated so easily was because the Shimazu family of the Satsuma domain suddenly raised troops and stabbed everyone in the back, causing the situation to collapse to the point of no return.

If the Shimazu family can go to bed, can't the other families go back to bed? This question weighed on everyone's mind.

They knew that many feudal lords in Kyushu and even in the western country were enemies of the old shogunate, and they were changed and reduced their territories several times by the shogunate.

"Shimadzu...... Shimazu ......" Tokugawa Iemitsu's face turned pale, and then he picked up the fan on the desk next to him and knocked it on the table hard, making a loud noise, "Grandpa should have killed this group of traitors back then!" Not a single one to stay! It is because we are so forgiving that they dare to get up and go to bed...... Pass on my order to execute Shimazu Mitsu Hisaaki canonically to set an example! ”

Shimazu Mitsuhisa is the eldest son of Shimazu Tadashi, who has been left in Edo Castle by the shogunate before, and was originally very favored by Tokugawa Iemitsu, but after hearing the news that the Shimazu family was attached to the Han Kou, he was arrested and detained by the shogunate, and now Tokugawa Iemitsu intends to kill him in order to show the world the end of rebellion.

Naotaka Ii had the intention to persuade and wanted to keep Shimazu Mitsuhisa as a bargaining chip with the Shimazu family - after all, since Shimazu Tadashi dared to raise troops, he definitely didn't care about this son's life, and it was useless to kill him. But seeing Tokugawa Iemitsu so angry, he didn't dare to say anything more.

Killing such a rebellious son is not wrong, at least it can vent anger from top to bottom.

"Hey......" he suddenly sighed, "We were going to have the daimyo leave hostages in Edo, but I didn't expect such a thing to happen before it was carried out, but I regret that I didn't implement it earlier, if there were really so many hostages, I'm afraid that the feudal lords everywhere would have more scruples." ”

Then, he smiled bitterly, "It's too late to say this now, don't talk about it." Your Excellency, Your Majesty, suggests that the Emperor and the Emperor be held hostage by the traitors, and that another Prince Regent be appointed to stabilize the hearts of the people in the world! ”