I have to say that Tokugawa Iemitsu did have high hopes for Naotaka Ii, and met Naotaka Ii's requirements in terms of quantity, and according to his ideas, he was equipped with a lot of elite forces from Qimoto, which can be described as full support. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

In his opinion, the prestige of the shogunate has been greatly damaged, and the surrounding daimyo are ready to move, so there is no way to retreat, and it is necessary to show the strength and will of the shogunate with strong resistance, so as to calm the hearts of the people in the world and avoid falling into the situation of being besieged by the world.

Since the large army had now been concentrated in the Kanto region and the border, it was not difficult to redeploy it, and since the shogunate had previously carried out strong operations in and Western Province, it had accumulated a large amount of food and more than enough to supply the front line.

With all the food and grass available and the support of the shogun, the army was quickly assembled, and then under the personal leadership of Naotaka Ii himself, it began to march towards.

The movement of such a large army, of course, could not be silent, with the help of the wealthy families and wealthy businessmen who secretly cooperated, the news poured like snowflakes to the side of the Han army, and also urged the action of the Han army.

There is no doubt that the movement of this large army shows that the strategy of the Han army has basically succeeded - the shogunate has transferred the army gathered in the Kanto region to seek a decisive battle with the Han army, then their strength in the Kanto region will inevitably become much weaker, and it will obviously make the main force of the Han army face less resistance.

However, this also means that the Han army on this road will face greater risks, Zhou Pu did not dare to slack off after learning the news, and immediately convened the senators around him to discuss countermeasures, and at the same time stepped up to urge the armies of all walks of life to complete the pre-planned combat objectives as soon as possible.

Now the Han army has entered Kinai and expanded its territory everywhere, and these territories can be regarded as falling into the control of the Japanese court. However, with the shogunate already sending a large army to reinforce it, the situation was bound to become much more tense, so in order to hold on to the territory already occupied and to consolidate the Japanese court's rule in these places, it was necessary to resist their forces as much as possible, and this required Tachibana Muneshige to take the intended targets of Nara and Iga as soon as possible - at least let the army accumulate there and resist the shogunate's reinforcements as best they could.

On the other hand, Zhou Pu also decided to take Kyoto as soon as possible in order to calm down the situation in Kinai, and then join forces to reinforce Tachibana Soshige, who was bound to face a lot of pressure, to assist him in resisting the shogunate army and contain this army in.

After one victory after another, Zhou Pu was already very confident in his army, especially in the Han army in his hands, he thought that even if the shogunate reinforced Kinai on a large scale, he could be on an equal footing with them, so the key to everything was to take Kyoto as soon as possible, and then join forces with Tachibana Soshige to resist the shogunate.

Under Zhou Pu's orders, the armies from all walks of life stepped up their mobilization, and requisitioned grain and grass materials everywhere, which made the entire very unstable for a while.

At this time, Kyoto also felt the pressure from the side of the Han army.

In the Kyoto office, Itakura Shigemune listened to his subordinates' reports with a gloomy face.

Compared with the high-spirited appearance before, he is now much more depressed, and even his spirit is often in a trance.

After the defeat of Himeji Castle, he retreated with the defeated army, but the Han Kou sent a pursuing force to chase after him, forcing him to flee all the way to, and the original defeated army in his hands was also wiped out in the rout, and finally became the enemy's military exploits, and finally he could only follow a few close samurai back to Kyoto.

Although there were still many shogunate troops left in Kyoto, their morale was severely damaged by this crushing defeat of the lord of Toshidai, and everyone feared that they would become another casualty of the Han army.

The terrain near Kyoto was flat and undefendable, and the enemy army could go all the way to Kyoto as long as they penetrated deep into, and even a fortress like Himeji Castle could not resist the advance of the Han Kou, and it was even more difficult to resist in Kyoto now.

And in this gloomy cloud, Itakura Shigemune did not have any particularly good way to redeem the defeat and stabilize people's hearts, so he had to ask the shogunate to mobilize more reinforcements to come over for reinforcements, and at the same time send people to set up defenses in Kyoto.

During Tokugawa Ieyasu's lifetime, he went to Rakuro several times, and then, in order to protect his own safety and reflect the shogunate's position in Japan, he decided to build a fortress in Kyoto, which was called Nijo Castle. The cost of building the castle was borne by the daimyo of the western country.

After several years of construction, Nijo Castle, located southwest of the Imperial Palace, was finally completed and became the political center of the shogunate in Kyoto. The palace of Nijo Castle was also the place where the shoguns of the past dynasties received the daimyos of the Western Kingdom. The palace was built very large and of a very high standard, and the Tokugawa family used this way to show their status.

More than ten years ago, Tokugawa Hidetada's daughter Kazuko set off here to go to the imperial palace and became the emperor's female queen, and Emperor Masahito at that time also rarely came to Nijo Castle in person to marry this woman with a special status.

More than ten years later, the emperor at that time had become the emperor of France, and the young Kazuko had also become the empress of the middle palace, and the Tokugawa shogunate, which had once ruled Japan, fell into a trap from which it was difficult to break free, and it was about to let Kyoto fall into the hands of the enemy, which shows the impermanence of the world.

Itakura Shigemune did not have time to lament the impermanence of the world, and since he was driven back to Kyoto, he immediately gathered his army and did everything he could to strengthen the defense of Kyoto. The defense system he constructed, centered on Nijo Castle, ran through the small half of Kyoto, and the atmosphere in Kyoto became unprecedentedly tense.

However, although Nijo Castle is a fortress, its walls are very low, and although the outer and inner castles are surrounded by moats, the fortifications are still very rudimentary compared to Himeji Castle. During this time, although Itakura Shigemune widened and deepened the trenches and laid out many defensive fortifications in the city, even he did not have much confidence to withstand the Han Kou's troops.

There is no doubt that today, when the shogunate army under his command has been greatly damaged, it is impossible for Han Ko to defend Kyoto if he shows the determination and will that he had attacked Himeji Castle at that time, and the reason why he is so enthusiastic about strengthening the defense of Kyoto is essentially just to numb himself with busyness.

And his busyness has not been able to stop the situation from deteriorating step by step, and the recent bad news has been one after another, which is simply overwhelming for him to handle. After winning the victory at Himeji Castle, the Han army quickly marched from Himeji Castle into Kinai, and due to the lack of troops in Kinai, they made good progress, capturing Kobe along the way, leaving Kinai in chaos.

Then they marched from Kobe and swept through all parts of Kinai, first occupying Osaka, and then attacking from Osaka on multiple routes, occupying large areas of land, and at this time, not only Nara and other places, but also Kyoto had become a direct target of the Han army.

When Itakura Shigemune learned that the Han envoy himself had personally led the army from Osaka and swept north along the Yodo River towards where he was, he did not panic or have a high fighting spirit, and only the expected Mu Ran remained.

Kyoto was not spared in front of the main force of the Han army, but he would take his men to fight for the shogunate until the last moment, until he died. He had already planned to be buried when he was in Himeji Castle, but now that he was alive until now, he was not too scared.

The only thing that worries him a little is how the shogunate and the shogun will survive this crisis after his death. As the head official of the shogunate in the western country, no one knew better than him how critical the situation really was. The kindness of the three generations of generals behind him really didn't want to see the worst happen.

With these complicated thoughts, he listened to the reports of his subordinates in the administrative center in a daze, but his mind had already drifted to other places.

Today is another bad news, the Han army that attacked Kyoto is now stationed in Fushimi, they are already close to Kyoto, and I think they will soon launch a final attack on Kyoto.

And Itakura Shigemune also knew that Kyoto was the place where the ministers lived, and they did not hate the Han army, but were ecstatic about the return of the imperial court, they all knew that the imperial court now had an army in its hands, and would definitely become the territory of the imperial court in the future, so their life would be much better than before, and in this case, of course, they would not want to resist.

Moreover, during this time, the fugitive imperial court has been sending envoys here, issuing letters and edicts, calling on the people here to rise up against the shogunate and cooperate with the imperial court to retake Kyoto as soon as possible. Although Itakura Shigemune has always tried his best to cut off the connection between Kyoto and the Han Kou, and even executed a group of people to make an example of the monkeys, he also knows that the hearts of the people of Kyoto no longer belong to him.

When his subordinate had finished reporting, he waved his hand to let the subordinate leave, and then continued to fall into deep thought, not noticing that someone had already arrived in the room.

"Your Excellency?" It was only when he heard the call that he came to his senses.

The person who came was the messenger Takagi Kiyoshi sent by the old middle Doi Toshikatsu.

"What is the matter with me?" Itakura Shigemune didn't reproach him for why he didn't go through the rumors and ran directly to see him, but asked directly.

Recently, Takagi Kiyoshi has been trying to contact the Han army and inquire about the possibility of peace talks between the two sides, but Itakura Shigemune is not confident in this - the conditions put forward by the Han have been so harsh before, and now that the Han army is progressing so smoothly, how can they give in again?

However, Kiyoshi Takagi's words quickly cheered him up.

"Your Excellency...... I just received news from Edo, and the Shogun has decided to send reinforcements to rescue! ”

This sentence rekindled the fire in Itakura Shigemune's heart, and his spirit suddenly lifted a lot, and he looked at Takagi Kiyoshi with wide eyes, and he couldn't believe it was true. "What?"

"The general has made up his mind, he has appointed Naoxiao Gong as the commander, and sent tens of thousands of troops, known as 100,000, to Jinai to resist the Han Kou!" Takagi Kiyoshi explained again, "The shogunate has been preparing for this for the past few days, and when we received the news, Naotaka Gong had probably already left!" ”

"Great!" A wave of ecstasy welled up in Itakura's heart.

Naotaka Ii is the elder of the shogunate, arguably the most prestigious person in the shogunate, and he will personally lead a large army to attack, then the Han Kou's troops will definitely be contained, and this army may even rescue Kyoto, so that the current crisis can be reversed. As long as the shogunate did its best to resist the Han Kou in, the situation would definitely be salvageable, and at least there would be hope for peace talks.

He looked up again at the window, but his eyes were full of hope now. "If there is a straight filial piety, there will be hope in the world!"

"Straight filial piety is loyal, and it is really admirable to stand up and turn the tide at such a time." Gao Mu Qing also nodded slightly, obviously very happy about this, "But my lord, now is not the time to be happy, the situation is still dangerous, please be more careful, don't mess up because of this news!" ”

As soon as he said this, Itakura Shigemune calmed down a lot.

Also, the distant water can't rescue the near fire, and now that the Han army is close at hand, even if the shogunate army starts from Kanto now, there must be no way to rush to Kyoto to rescue them soon, and they may not even be able to fight Kyoto all the time.

So there's still no hope here.

As soon as he thought of this, Itakura Shigemune's originally high mood fell again. However, in his opinion, as long as the shogunate can resist the Han Kou, then even if he dies, it is nothing. It's a big deal to die for the shogunate here, and it's a good thing to be able to kill some more enemies.

"My lord, there is one more thing I want to inform you from the Edo side...... It was ordered by the elder and the middle-aged man himself. At this moment, Takagi Kiyoshi suddenly said. The old man explained that he wanted you to reorganize the army as soon as possible, and then retreat eastward, join up with the shogunate reinforcements as soon as possible, and attack the Han Kou together! ”

"What?" Itakura Shigemune's eyes widened in surprise, "The old man told us to withdraw from Kyoto?" ”

The importance of Kyoto to Japan is self-evident, and if the shogunate loses Kyoto, it will definitely bring a great shock to the people of the world, so when he heard that the old man asked him to withdraw from Kyoto, Itakura Shigemune was really incredulous.

"Yes, that's what the old and middle adults mean." Kiyoshi Takagi repeated it again.

"No...... No way! Itakura Shigemune's face flushed and looked a little angry, "I've already retreated once in Himeji Castle and become the laughing stock of the world, so if I retreat again...... What else will I survive? I can't do this kind of degrading thing to the samurai's name again and again! Even if I have to die, I will stay in Kyoto and die! ”

"Even if we stay here, will the adults be able to defend Kyoto?" Takagi Kiyoshi suddenly asked rhetorically. "If you can't keep it, won't your adult's reputation be damaged?"

This rhetorical question made Itakura Shigemune speechless for a moment. He really didn't have the confidence to hold Kyoto.

"My lord, you know the current situation in Kyoto, and I know it, the situation is already dangerous, and the defenders have been shaken up and down, and the inhabitants are not supporting us, and this place is close to death for the defenders...... If they are forced to stay here, it will only make them fall into the clutches of the Han Kou and sacrifice in vain. ”

After refuting Itakura Shigemune's words, Takagi Kiyoshi continued, "And if we transfer them out, we can cooperate with Naotaka's reinforcements!" As you know, the great traitor of Tachibana Muneshige is now leading an army against Nara, and it is clear that he is going to fend off the shogunate's reinforcements...... If Kyoto sends troops, it will be able to attack Tachibana Soshige in front and back, wouldn't it be a great achievement at that time? As long as Tachibana Somao is eliminated, Han Kou will inevitably suffer a heavy blow, isn't it better than staying here and dying in vain? ”

Itakura Shigemune thought carefully about Takagi Kiyoshi's words and felt that there was indeed some truth.

However, he still has some reservations. He fled all the way from Himeji Castle and was constantly pursued by Tachibana Soshige on the way, and he still felt like a nightmare when he looked back on it, and he didn't want to endure that feeling anymore.

"But...... The morale of the army has been discharged, and if I lead the troops to evacuate again, I am afraid that the army will not be able to restrain the army on the road. We are in Kyoto, and we can still defend it, but if we go out of the city and are in the wilderness, then I am afraid that it will collapse at the touch of a button! After a moment, he said bitterly, "Besides, the Han Kou has now reached Fushimi, and even if we want to retreat east, we don't have much room left." ”

"It's because Hanko is only in Fushimi now that we have a chance to leave, and if Hanko really hits outside Kyoto, then we have nowhere to retreat!" Takagi Kiyoshi still didn't accept his statement, "My lord, we can retreat to the northeast first, go to Otsu, and then go south, and cooperate with Naoko Gong to encircle and annihilate the traitor Tachibana Sogeru's army!" ”

Itakura Shigemune pondered for a moment, feeling that what he said did make sense, but ...... It was still too unwilling to ask him to withdraw from Kyoto like this.

"My lord, don't hesitate now!" Kiyoshi Takagi urged again, "If we hold on here, Kyoto will inevitably become a sea of fire, and I am afraid that the tragedy of the Onin War will be repeated again." Kyoto is the capital of our country, and it should not be too devastating...... In addition, if we do this, we will have a blood feud with the imperial court. The imperial court is now different from what it used to be, and if we become mortal enemies with the imperial court, I am afraid that there will be no chance of peace talks in the future! ”

It turns out that in the final analysis, it is still for peace talks. Itakura Shigemune suddenly realized this, and then smiled bitterly in his heart.

Has the shogunate fallen into such a situation?

However, despite his discomfort, he admitted that he had a point.

Unlike in the beginning, when it was only in name, the imperial court now has soldiers and money and food, and has become a force to be reckoned with, and if you have to fight to the death in Kyoto, I am afraid that such a grudge will really not be able to be reduced.

"That'...... Then I'll stay in Kyoto, take the samurai around me, and fight the Han Kou to the death in Nijo Castle......" After thinking about it for a long time, he finally sighed, "The others, you will take them away." ”

Then, he smiled wryly. "Presumably, Nijo Castle will definitely be destroyed by the imperial court after the war, and no one will regret it even if I burn this place to the ground." (To be continued.) )