With his words, the other two elders who supported him also echoed him, while the two elders of the Sakai family and Doi Toshikatsu, who had been silent, simply looked away, pretending not to see the dispute between these people.

"It's about the reputation of the Great Nayan and the Tokugawa family, how can it be called a small matter? I don't think it could be anything more than that. Jing Yi Naotaka said coldly, there was no longer any intention to back down. Since the lord of the Great Imperial Palace entrusted me to participate in the great affairs before the immortals left, I should have done my best to ensure the stability of the shogunate, and if I am afraid of fatigue, then I am sorry for the Great Imperial Palace. ”

After he brought out the late Tokugawa Hidetada, the other elders didn't dare to say anything more, and the hall fell into dead silence again, and the atmosphere was even more stalemate than just now.

"The Shogun has arrived!" At this moment, the shouts of people near the general rang out in the hall.

Jing Yi Naotaka and several old middle school members hurriedly left the table and knelt down to welcome the arrival of the general.

Surrounded by a group of attendants, Tokugawa Iemitsu, the shogun, dressed in a small straight-robed suit with wide sleeves and a folding fan in his hand, walked in from the door step by step.

This was a young man with a serious expression, his steps were slow, but his head was held high, and he did not pay attention to the several important ministers kneeling next to him. His facial features were soft, but his long eyebrows were a little more stern, and he had a shaved Tsukiyo hairstyle on both sides, and the hair on the top of his head was carefully tied together with a belt.

He is only thirty years old this year, but he has been a general for ten years, so he has already established his majesty in front of his subordinates.

Perhaps because he was not loved by his parents when he was a child, he had a very strong personality and was almost fierce, and never allowed anyone to disobey him.

Shortly after he became a shogun, on an occasion when the daimyos from all over the world came to Edo to pay homage, he publicly admonished the daimyos, "My grandfather and father, who used to be subordinate to Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and who were courtiers of the same palace, and who used to have a comradeship with each other, but unlike them, I am a natural shogun, so I will only treat you as I would treat your subordinates!" ”

Although this kind of speech was arrogant and conceited, due to the strong power of the shogunate, the daimyo in various places could only swallow their anger and bow down to him respectfully. Tokugawa Iemitsu also used similar means to extremely suppress the daimyo in various places and the imperial court in Kyoto, and established the absolute authority of the shogunate.

It is not surprising that a person with such a character wants to persecute his younger brother to death.

After walking step by step to the imperial couch of the palace, Tokugawa Iemitsu, who had been silent, turned around and waved his hand heavily.

"Get up!"

Only then did these important ministers of the shogunate get up and sit down again behind their respective desks.

Then, his gaze shifted downward, slowly looking back from the leader Naotaka Ii, and finally stopped at Inaba Masakatsu, whose chest had been rising and falling violently.

Inaba smiled reluctantly, signaling that he was fine.

"Zhengsheng, thank you for your hard work, leave your affairs to others recently, take a good rest." Tokugawa Iemitsu ignored the others and greeted Masakatsu first.

This is not only to care about the other person's body, but also to use him to elicit the real proposition.

"Thank you, General, for your concern, I ...... After I finish the things I am doing now, I will definitely recuperate for a while," Inaba Masakatsu still smiled reluctantly, "However, there are some major matters that we must deal with as soon as possible......"

"Is it the things of the Loyal Chief? I've heard the report as well. Tokugawa Iemitsu immediately took over the conversation, and then looked at the old Ii Naomasa, "You were discussing the disposition of Tadashi just now, right?" Have you got a result? ”

This direct gaze was like substance, stabbing Iii Naotaka with a pain in his heart, and the feeling of pressure increased a little, as if it was a little difficult to breathe.

He understood that since everyone was gathered today, it must be the instruction of the general himself, and he had already prepared for the general to be present in person. But when the general really arrived, he realized how difficult it was to stick to his original position.

"General, after some deliberation, my personal opinion is that it is best for me to investigate and verify it myself......" He mustered up the remaining courage in his heart and looked at the general as calmly as possible, "If it is confirmed that Da Nayan really has a bad plan against the general, then he will be punished severely...... If there is no evidence, then don't ......"

However, before he could finish speaking, the general directly interrupted him.

"You are now in charge of the shogunate, and you should not be distracted by such trivial matters. Next year's affairs in Shangluo will be arranged by you, but don't make omissions and lose the face of the shogunate. It's good to leave the verification to other old middlemen. ”

Generally speaking, next year's Shogun Kamiraku's visit to His Majesty the Emperor is indeed the focus of the shogunate's work at present. The shogunate had set aside the powers of the imperial court, so it was absolutely impossible to lose its prestige in front of the imperial court.

Especially at this point in time when the Great Imperial Palace has just passed away, it is even more important that those who are dissatisfied with the shogunate have bad thoughts. Therefore, at the behest of Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu, these important ministers decided to gather all the forces of the shogunate next year, and the shogun himself went to Rakuro to demonstrate the unshakable strength of the shogunate.

Because of this, the shogunate expected that more than 100,000 people might demonstrate with Iemitsu by then, and if the supply of this group of people along the way was guaranteed, it would become a big trouble, and only the most important shoguns could be responsible.

It is not surprising that the elder is personally in charge of this matter, but in this occasion, it has a different meaning.

Naotaka Iii knew that if the general appointed someone else to censor it, then Da Nayan's life would definitely not be saved, so he finally decided to try hard. "General...... Da Nayan...... After all, he is a Tokugawa clan, so he must not be hastily convicted......"

"Smack!" The folding fan in the general's hand, which was originally half-open, suddenly closed, making a crisp muffled sound, which also interrupted Ii Naotaka's last defense. "No more discussion, do as I command!"

His face became more and more grim, and he looked directly at Naotaka Ii.

Ii Naotaka hesitated for a moment, and finally had to bow his head. As the number of years he held the post of general grew, the general himself also showed more and more his arbitrary character, and those who dared to defend him would definitely be punished heavily.

Even though he is now an elder, he is only a genealogical retainer of the shogunate after all, so what can change the will of the shogun himself? If you continue to talk, not only will you not be able to save Nayan's life, but I'm afraid that even you will be implicated, and it will not help.

Can you see it in the sky? There's nothing I can do about it, please forgive me...... He sighed in his heart.

Seeing that the elder himself never said anything else, the general's stern expression finally relaxed a little.

"Your Excellency, please let me preside over the review of the Great Confession." At this moment, Inaba Masakatsu suddenly spoke, and although his tone was vain, his attitude was very firm. "I will definitely be careful to screen and investigate the truth as soon as possible."

"...... you?" The general hesitated slightly. "Dango Shou should rest first."

"My lord, please let me preside!" Inaba Masakatsu suddenly fell on the case, and his attitude was very firm.

Since he was seriously ill, he felt that his life was almost at the end, so he didn't have many scruples, and he wanted to help the lord solve his biggest heart disease. Besides, it is better for a dying person to bear the infamy of forcing the general's brother to death than for others.

From his determined performance, Tokugawa Iemitsu also felt his own determination to be a small man, and he stayed for a moment, and finally nodded slightly.

"Well, then let you preside over it, but ...... Remember to take care of yourself. ”

"Yes!" Inaba Masakatsu slowly raised his head from the desk, his face becoming more and more pale, as if a single word had exhausted all the strength in his body.

Seeing him so sickly, Tokugawa Iemitsu was also quite sorry in his heart. He really couldn't bear to let his little friend and friend die like this, but he didn't know what to do.

Life in the world is really like duckweed, which can only be at the mercy of heaven's will. A sigh similar to that of those ministers in Kyoto suddenly popped up in his heart.

In order to get rid of the sadness of this moment, he changed the subject.

"Did you just discuss anything other than dealing with the loyal chief?"

"General, we were just discussing how to deal with the big man." Matsudaira Nobutsuna replied immediately, and then told Tokugawa Iemitsu about the process and results of the discussion just now.

"Well done." After hearing this, Tokugawa Iemitsu gently tapped his left hand with a folding fan to show his approval, "In two months, if Yanagi has not yet reported a major incident, we will cut the two trades according to the method you agreed on before, and then send a mission over." In addition to Naito, it is important that the people of the mission are carefully selected, and those who are well versed in Chinese culture will be selected to enhance the relationship between the two countries and make them understand our suffering. ”

At this time, the Japanese basically admired the culture and wealth of Middle-earth, coupled with the Ming Dynasty's aid to Goryeo, which indirectly helped them weaken the strength of the Toyotomi family, and the Han Dynasty actively developed trade with Japan, so the Tokugawa shogunate was relatively favorable to China, even Tokugawa Iemitsu himself, and did not want the relationship between the two countries to collapse because of his own measures to limit the scale of trade.

"What the General said is true." Toshikatsu Doi, who has not been very involved in the controversy, now greeted the general, "We will definitely carefully select the members of the mission to maintain relations between the two countries." ”

The other elders also came back to their senses and echoed one after another, declaring that the general was wise. The haze just now was swept away in the hall, and there was no longer the depression just now.

If anyone can see this scene now, who would believe that the fate of one of the sons of the previous general has been decided not long ago?

"The members of the mission, will they be able to meet the emperor of the Great Han?" At this moment, Tokugawa Iemitsu seemed to have a problem in mind.

"If the mission sent over is of high enough standard, and its attitude is humble enough, and it pays enough tribute, maybe we will be able to meet His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Han." Toshikatsu Doi replied cautiously.

Although he didn't know whether the envoy would be able to meet the emperor of the Han Dynasty at that time, this did not prevent him from giving an answer that was in line with the general's wishes.

"I can see him......" Tokugawa Iemitsu nodded slightly. He can be said to be the most outstanding hero in the whole world now, let me arrange a man in the mission who can paint, and if I can see him, I will draw his portrait when I come back, and let me see how heroic he really is. ”

This is what he really thinks in his heart.

He inherited the position of general at a young age, and then ruled a country of tens of millions of people, but because of this, he also deeply understood how difficult it is to maintain a foundation.

Because of this, he also admired the Han emperor who rose from the cold and finally laid down such a vast territory.

He has always been hard to believe that this unparalleled hero who has laid down a huge territory and shocked all directions is not much older than him.

I'm afraid that only Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty will make such heroic deeds as him.

"Okay, my lord, we'll arrange a painter in the group." Tadashige Naito, who was in charge of leading the mission, immediately responded.

After the other party accepted the order, Tokugawa Iemitsu lowered his gaze again.

"The emperor of the Han Dynasty, I really want to see his true face when I have the opportunity."

Then, he shook the fan in his hand as a sign of his decision to end the meeting and leave the temple.

The other ministers left their seats again and knelt on either side.

"Your Excellency General returns to the palace!" Amid the shouts of the people close to him, Tokugawa Iemitsu left the Omoteden with his head held high.

Ganghwa Island, located at the mouth of the Han River, was originally a barren land that was used as a place of exile and internment for the Goryeo royal family and nobles after committing crimes. The current ruler of Goryeo, Yi Hui, was exiled to this island with his son after being ousted by a coup d'état by Yi Ju and others.

Later, during the hard life of detention, his son was given to die for trying to escape, and a few years later, he was rescued by the Han soldiers under the banner of "restoring discipline", and then sent back to Seoul by the Han army, and became the lord of Goryeo again.

In order to thank China and North Korea for their great kindness, Li Hui, who was reinstated, expressed his gratitude to China and North Korea with various practical actions in addition to verbal gratitude. He welcomed the Dahan mission in Seoul and ceded many of Goryeo's interests to the Dahan, one of which was to allow the Dahan to garrison troops on Ganghwa Island, in effect ceding this sadly to the Dahan.

The island is strategically located, commanding the Han River basin and plains, close to Seoul, the capital of Goryeo, and an island that can be defended in natural circumstances, so the Dahan also made full use of its geographical value and transformed it into a militarized stronghold. Now the island not only has the land garrison and fortress of the Han Dynasty, but also has opened up a military port for various types of warships of the navy to moor.

Because of the arrival of the Han army and the arrival of warships from time to time, the island has gained a lot of popularity, and it has also added a lot of business opportunities to the residents of the island. In addition to the business of these Han officers and soldiers, a large amount of ginseng was originally grown on the island, and it soon became a sought-after commodity in the Han Dynasty, which was in short supply.

After the fame spread, merchants from all over the country flocked to the place, taking a fancy to the security of the garrison protection and the convenience of having direct access to the Han government. The island's civil affairs institutions were all established by the Han side, so as well as the domestic government, the development of commerce was also very encouraged, and under the joint prompting of several factors, it soon became a busy commercial port, and the development was changing with each passing day, although it could not be compared with the port of Jinju, but it was much more prosperous than other seaports in Goryeo.

In this situation, the residents of the island are not nostalgic for the Li Dynasty, because compared to the wolf-like officials of the Li Dynasty and the harsh taxes and miscellaneous taxes, the current Han officials do not oppress them, but let them become rich because of the prosperity of the island, so they hope that the Han can always occupy this place, so that their good life can continue.

In the early morning hunting sea breeze, a fleet of the Han Navy quietly sailed into the harbor on Ganghwa Island. Because it was still early, most of the islanders had not yet gotten up to work, and the skyline was only vague, and everything was hidden into the darkness. Everything was as usual, as if a large Han fleet was on an ordinary cruise, and it was just a short stop here, and no one on the island could imagine how big this fleet was and why it came from.

"Your Royal Highness the Prince, although Jianghua Island is operated by the Han Navy, after all, it has not been in my hands for a long time, so the development is not satisfactory, and the number of warships that can dock in the military port is too small to include the fleet that will go on patrol with His Highness this time." In the most luxuriously decorated cabin of the Songshan, Cai De, the commander-in-chief of the Northern Fleet of the Han Dynasty and the Marquis of Langya, respectfully explained to the prince, "Therefore, in addition to a part of the fleet and transport ships that can follow His Royal Highness the Prince to dock at Ganghwa Island, another part of the warships will go straight to the port of Busan, please forgive me." ”

"It doesn't matter, a few warships are enough to stop here." The crown prince waved his hand casually, "However, after the fleet is docked, you must not make any noise, and you must not alarm the people on the island." ”

First, he didn't want the army to disturb the people, and secondly, it was also for the sake of secrecy, this fleet and the army officers and soldiers carried on it were numerous, and there were many business trips on Ganghwa Island, if the news spread, the shogunate would definitely get the news soon.

"What His Highness said is very true," Cai De nodded, "The minister has already ordered that the officers and men on the warships everywhere must remain silent, and they are not allowed to leave the warships during their stay, let alone leave the port to disturb the people. At the same time, the island's military port will also be closed, and residents and merchant ships will not be allowed to approach to ensure secrecy. But ......"