The Han envoy's straightforward and ruthless words would of course provoke the anger of Naotaka Ii, but he also knew that now was not the time to be angry, and what the other party said was indeed the truth - since the matter of his secret preparation for retreat had been known to the Han Kou, they would definitely want to pursue it, and at that time the shogunate army would probably pay heavy losses. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

Therefore, he forcibly suppressed the anger in his heart and looked at the other party as calmly as possible, "I still have a large army in my hands now, and our shogunate is still in the eastern land, if you feel that you have no fear and can act at will, then just try it!" We will be with you to the end! ”

However, although he is tough on the surface, it is obvious that his confidence is very insufficient.

"That's right, you still have a large army, and the shogunate is still in the east, but your army is already in a dilemma, and it is difficult to move forward, and there is only a corner of Kanto left, and it is stormy, do you still think you can compete with our Han?" The envoy still did not give up the blow to him, "Don't forget, now that you are fighting against the Great Han and the whole of Japan with a corner of the Kanto region, do you think you still have a chance to win?" ”

Seeing Naotaka Ii's look of surprise, the envoy suddenly sneered, "Let me tell you the news, now the Maeda family of the Kaga Domain has also raised troops to help the imperial court and crusade against the shogunate...... If most of the great feudal clans have been attached to the banner of your imperial court to fight against the shogunate, isn't the shogunate fighting against the world in a corner?! ”

The Maeda family has reversed!

Naotaka Ii was almost stunned for a moment.

The Maeda family was the largest of the shogunate's daimyo domains, with a territory of one million koku, and their every move would surely be watched by the whole world, if they returned...... Then it will definitely make the situation of the shogunate more passive, and it can even be said to be a final word, so that the shogunate, which is now in danger, will never have a chance to turn over.

In the past, Naotaka Ii advocated the rescue of in front of the general, and one of its main purposes was to stabilize the hearts of the people everywhere, so that the Maeda family, who had already had a bad trajectory, gave up their ambition of betrayal and at least remained neutral, but they didn't expect that now they would get up and go to bed directly...... That is, this dispatch of troops, which has already failed strategically, has achieved nothing.

The Maeda family has always been insidious and cunning, the first rat at both ends, and the shogunate has been losing and retreating in front of the Han Kou, and the situation is deteriorating step by step, so it is normal for the Maeda family to choose to jump out and rebel now, Naotaka Ii smiled bitterly in his heart.

Now that the Imperial Court has re-emerged with the support of the Han Kou and reoccupied Kyoto, it has clearly issued an edict to the people of the world calling for the overthrow of the shogunate, and the Maeda, Mori, and Shimazu families, the largest feudal clans left behind by the Warring States, have all risen up against the shogunate, and the remaining few families, will they not follow the example of these families? I'm afraid the Date family is already preparing for it.

So this envoy is also right, now the shogunate is really fighting against the whole world and the backers behind the imperial court with a corner.

It's already hopeless.

Even with the will and heart tempered by Naotaka Ii for many years, he can't help but be discouraged now, he knows that at this point, the shogunate has lost this war, even if he can return to the division now, he can repel the Han army that landed in Kanto, there is still no way to reverse the situation, and the shogunate, which has been greatly injured, is destined to be impossible to change the situation.

The world of the Tokugawa family is about to collapse before his eyes. At this moment, Naotaka Ii, who has been loyal to the Tokugawa family for generations, had a sour nose, and almost tears flowed down.

However, the willpower cultivated over the years still allowed him to maintain his dignity in the end.

With the proud attitude of the shogunate elder, he glanced at the envoy coldly, "The Maeda family rebelled against us, it was originally in our expectations, your country and the imperial court do have the upper hand now, but we still have so many samurai who are loyal to the shogun, we will definitely fight for the shogunate to the end, even if we die in battle, we will never insult the name of the samurai, if you come here to show off and mock us, please go back now, we will definitely fight to the death!" ”

"Death to the death sounds good in the end, but would your lord rather have a false name than care about the lives of tens of thousands of people under him, or even the survival of the Tokugawa family?" The envoy was still unhurried, "If you must fight with us to the end, squander the lives of your subordinates, and let the Tokugawa family have no more blood and bones, then go back next!" ”

"What do you mean by that?" When he understood the meaning of the other party's words, Naokaka Ii looked at the other party in disbelief.

Although this envoy's words are still very sarcastic, he vaguely seems to reveal that the big man is willing to give the Tokugawa family a way out!?

"Am I not clear enough? I am an envoy sent by Lord Zhou, the envoy of the Han Dynasty, and my lord specially sent me to find you, naturally it will not be just to entertain you for a few words......" The envoy still sneered, "Your Excellency sent me here to ask you, do you want the Tokugawa family to continue after the war and not perish at the hands of your court and wealthy clans?" ”

Jing Yi stared at the other party solemnly, and after a long time, he finally asked again.

"What if I wanted to?"

Since ancient times, when the shogunate fell, the families that dominated the shogunate did not end up very well. At the time of the fall of the Kamakura shogunate, the entire family of the Hojo family, who actually ruled the shogunate, was forced to die, and the family line was completely severed, and when the Muromachi shogunate fell, the last generation of shogun Ashikaga Yoshiaki was also ill-fated, and was exiled by Oda Nobunaga many times, and finally under Toyotomi Hideyoshi, he was barely included in the list of daimyo with only 10,000 stones, and became a monk, and his son Ashikaga Yoshihiro was also forced to become a monk at the age of one, and finally died without heirs, and the entire Ashikaga shogun family was officially cut off.

If the Edo shogunate did fall, what kind of predicament would the Tokugawa family face? This problem Naotaka Ii has also thought about many times, and he is terrified of it.

Under such circumstances, if the envoys of the Han Dynasty, who are now in control of the situation, are really willing to let go of the Tokugawa family...... Then the Tokugawa family can be regarded as a blessing in heaven.

Previously, the shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu and his old middle pen head Doi Toshikatsu sent envoys many times to seek peace with the Han Kou, although Ii Naotaka knew about it, but in order not to affect them, so he did not interfere in any way, but the Han envoys put forward a number of very harsh conditions, which were difficult for the shogunate to accept, so the negotiations were interrupted for a time.

At present, the envoys of the Han Dynasty took the initiative to propose terms for peace talks with the shogunate, I am afraid that it will ...... I'm afraid the conditions will be even more embarrassing, at least the Shogun will definitely have a hard time accepting it.

However, now that the situation in the shogunate is so bad, and he has no way to return to heaven, all he can pursue now is to try to get a more decent result for the Tokugawa family. So even if he didn't have much hope in his heart, he still wanted to ask from the other party.

"We have already negotiated with the shogunate before, and I am afraid that our negotiation conditions, Mr. already knows, right?" The envoy remained calm, "We still have the same conditions as before, as long as the shogunate agrees to these conditions, we can also make peace with the shogunate and let the Tokugawa family be preserved." ”

Previously, in front of the envoys of the shogunate, the envoys of the Great Han Dynasty proposed the abolition of the shogunate and the shogunate, the replacement of the head of the Tokugawa family and the punishment of the chief minister, and the agreement on compensation, etc., because it was too harsh, so Tokugawa Iemitsu himself denied these conditions - the reason is also very obvious, if he agreed, he would have to retire from the shogunate, and how should he deal with himself at that time?

Naotaka Jing Yi felt another pain in his heart.

Although the other party did not add any additional conditions, these conditions were harsh enough.

Even a few days ago, he would not have considered these conditions, but today, it is really different from the past, and the survival and safety of the shogunate, the Tokugawa family, and even the Ii family, he cannot act cautiously.

"We can negotiate the matter of agreeing on the indemnity, and the shogunate has also proposed to hand over the gold mountain to the Dahan to run the house, not because we are unwilling to pay for it, punish the culprits, and ...... We can also agree to the removal of the shogunate, but it is difficult for us to agree to the abdication of the shogun. After pondering for a long time, Jing Yi Naoxiao finally spoke, "The general was just deceived by some traitorous ministers, and we were incompetent and stupid, so he made a big mistake, as far as his heart is concerned, he has always hoped to make friends with the big man, so he is not a big deal...... If your country wants to punish the culprits, punish us, the ministers, and every important minister of the shogunate, from me down, to be at his disposal. ”

"I admire your loyalty, but ...... We can't agree to this condition. The envoy sneered, "Tokugawa Ieko is the shogun, and if the affairs of the shogunate are not decided by him, who will decide?" Since he decided, he should be responsible...... So let him take the blame and abdicate, shouldn't he be? Besides, our Han army sent troops, and the imperial court of your country issued edicts, all of which clearly stated that Tokugawa Iemitsu would be the enemy, if Tokugawa Iemitsu could be safe and sound after the war, then what face would we, the Han soldiers, have to go back and face the people of the world? ”

"In that case...... Then I don't have anything more to say, so you can go back. Naotaka Ii frowned, then waved his hand resolutely, "We will fight to the end." ”

As a samurai retainer of the Tokugawa family for generations, and the elder of the shogunate, Naotaka Ii felt that he had an obligation to do everything possible to preserve the blood and inheritance of the Tokugawa family, in order to achieve this goal, he was willing to suffer a little humiliation, but the conditions proposed by the other party were too harsh, and Naotaka Ii knew that it was impossible for the shogun to agree, so he was not willing to seek peace again.

"Hahahaha! I've heard people say that you are a highly respected person in the shogunate, but it turns out that you are nothing more than that! When he saw that Naotaka Ii didn't want to talk anymore, the messenger couldn't help laughing, and then looked at Naotaka Ii with a sneering face, "You say you're loyal to the Tokugawa family, but in fact, you're just loyal to the Tokugawa iemitsu, a thief!" Do you still want to watch the entire Tokugawa family bury Tokugawa Iemitsu himself? Our adults originally wanted to let the Tokugawa family live, but you turned down this opportunity for the sake of the Tokugawa family, you are a loyal minister, and you have failed the trust of the Tokugawa family's previous heads! ”

When he heard the other party say this, Naotaka Jing finally couldn't help it, he raised his hand and slapped it heavily on the low table in front of him, making a loud bang, and the guards outside the door also rushed in directly with knives, looking like they were going to kill this messenger directly.

But even though his life was threatened, the messenger was undaunted, and he did not give in at all, and still laughed. "It's ridiculous that we adults still have expectations for you, and are ready for you to keep the blood and blood of the Tokugawa family, so that the Tokugawa family can survive this storm...... As a result, the good intentions of adults were wantonly squandered by people like you, and the family fortune of the Tokugawa family ended because of you, can a person like you be called a loyal minister?! ”

Naotaka Ii's face was already pale with anger, and he glared at the messenger as if he was about to give the order to pull him out and kill him, but in the end, he raised his hand slightly, and then motioned for the guards to go out again.

"Why do the envoys of the Celestial Empire have to work hard to force each other? Our general, I have always admired your country very much, and after this lesson, he must be willing to be submissive to your country. There was already a little more pain in his voice, "Don't forget, since the Great Han wants to pay compensation, then the forces everywhere should be as stable as possible, now the general has no children, and there are no outstanding talents in the side branches, if the general is forced to abdicate, who can stabilize the Kanto?" I'm just scared...... I'm afraid that it is not in line with the interests of your country. ”

Unconsciously, his attitude had softened, and even had a hint of pleading.

But his words did not impress the messenger, who refused to back down at all, and did not even hide his ridicule.

"I've made it clear, our Han must be the abdication of the Tokugawa family, this is an unchangeable result, if you want to save the Tokugawa family, you have to do this, otherwise we have to follow your ideas and fight to the end. Other than that...... Don't deceive us, although Tokugawa Iemitsu has no son, doesn't he have a brother? And he is also the younger brother of the same son, is it difficult that after the abdication of the Chuan family, is it not justifiable for him to be a general? ”

"What?!" Naotaka Ii was shocked by this sudden news again, and was speechless.

He didn't expect that the big man would secretly have such an idea, planning to let Tokugawa Tadanaga replace Tokugawa Iemitsu! And...... What he didn't expect was that Tokugawa Tadanaga actually ran directly to contact the big man after escaping from Takasaki Castle.

Should he be scolded as a thief who betrayed the Tokugawa family? Or should we secretly praise him for his foresight? Naotaka Ii smiled bitterly in his heart. "Do you just want Dainayan-sama to take over the entire Tokugawa family?"

"Yes, Lord Da Nayan acted cautiously, and was very respectful to your court and our great Han, and won the favor of our lordship, and it was precisely because of our lordship's strong request that your court deliberately did not deprive him of his official position, so that he could continue to be the great Nayan of the imperial court......" The envoy immediately nodded in confirmation, "In addition, he also agreed to all the conditions we put forward. ”

Tokugawa Tadanaga is now in your hands, so he has to say yes if he doesn't...... Naotaka Ii thought to himself.

However, if Tokugawa Tadanaga comes to take over the entire Tokugawa family, then ...... It's not completely unacceptable, at least it's much better than the total demise of the Tokugawa family. Tokugawa Tadanaga is also the son-in-law of the previous shogun Tokugawa Hidetada, and he is the person who the previous shogun never forgot before he died, and wanted Naotaka Ii to help preserve it, if he came to be a general......

Either way, it's better than the fall of the Tokugawa family!

"You ...... What are you going to do with the Tokugawa family? After being silent for a long time, Naotaka Ii asked in a low voice.

"If you listen to the advice of our lord and serve Tokugawa Tadanaga as the master, then we can let your Dainayan inherit the Tokugawa family, and naturally no longer have to bear the current crisis, although the shogun must be removed and the shogunate must be dissolved, but he can take the old head of the Tokugawa family." Because he saw that Naotaka Ii had been shaken, the envoy immediately explained to Naotaka Ii, "Although it is indeed very uncomfortable to restore the old domain compared to the situation of the shogunate a few months ago, but in the current situation, you should be satisfied if you can restore the old domain, right?" ”

Naotaka Ii was silent.

On the surface, compared to the current situation, this condition is indeed generous, but he still finds it a little hard to believe that Dahan can be so generous.

"Your Excellency...... Why was such a decision made? I think many people want to put the Tokugawa family to death. ”

"We, the Han, are here to restore the discipline of Japan, to punish the previous Tokugawa Iemitsu and his courtiers for their disrespect to our country, not to specifically eliminate the Tokugawa family, at least we don't want to kill the Tokugawa family......" The envoy still looked calm, "So you don't have to be afraid, the previous things cannot be changed, but as long as you follow the pace of our Han, if you are respectful to our Han...... Then we will keep the Tokugawa family in the future. ”

This is not a lie, in fact, Zhou Pu really wants to protect the Tokugawa family, firstly, he can use the Tokugawa family to deter the princes of the Western Kingdom and the Japanese court, and secondly, even if the Tokugawa family, which has become the target of public criticism, can be preserved, it will presumably face hostility from all sides, so they will be extremely eager to get the support of the Han, and they can also become the pawns of the Han.

Zhou Pu just wants to create a situation in which all parties in Japan are restrained and have to rely on the Han to arbitrate and remote control, otherwise, if he fights to destroy the Tokugawa family, wouldn't it be in vain to be a good person? Dahan would not do such a loss-making business.

And after the envoy made it clear about the Han's intentions, Naotaka Ii continued to fall into silence.

Finally, he suddenly let out a long sigh.

"You go back." (To be continued.) )