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p> The loud bang trembled everywhere, and almost everyone's face changed color at the same time. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

What's going on? Was there an earthquake? Everyone was looking at each other, and even Tokugawa Iemitsu was a little surprised.

However, while they were still in doubt, a loud noise continued to be heard, as if some god in the sky was beating the drums of war.

Tokugawa Iemitsu was a little confused at first, but soon, as if he had thought of something, his eyes suddenly widened, and then he walked directly to the windowsill.

He could not see the city outside because of the high walls at the edge of the city, but the intermittent noises and the faint light of the fire towards the sea confirmed his most terrible suspicions.

I really didn't expect that I would call directly now...... These Han Kou ......

He suddenly felt dizzy, and he couldn't even stand on his feet, but he finally grabbed the window bar to stabilize his body.

No, Edo was heavily defended, it was impossible for the Han Kou to land directly, and the Han Kou was now fighting against Ii Naotaka's army, how could they suddenly come to Edo? This must be a warship from the Han Navy coming to attack and disturb.

Then he calmed down, and then forcibly hid all the anger and anxiety in his heart, and then walked back to the place where he had been sitting, and then sat down on his knees again.

In order to make himself appear more calm, he picked up the wine glass that had just fallen to the ground, then poured himself a new glass of wine, and poured it down again, but although his movements were calm, everyone else could see that his face was simply terrifyingly pale.

None of the people in the vicinity dared to speak, and only the most refreshed young attendant dared to step forward, and then carefully bowed down to wipe the wine spilled on the couch for the general, and his movements were very gentle, for fear of making a little noise, and the whole hall became extremely silent.

Only the constant roar outside the window makes this place seem like a place for living people.

Soon after, a group of samurai who were serving at the shogun's side came to the outside of the temple, and he immediately summoned them in.

"General, there is a Han Kou attacking in the sea outside the river!" One of the leading samurai knelt down and reported with a worried expression.

Although Tokugawa Iemitsu had been mentally prepared for a long time, he still couldn't help but feel a pain in his heart after hearing the confirmed news. But he did not speak, but waited for the report of the other party.

"The enemy's warships broke into the sea outside the river in the evening, and although our ships were already trying their best to meet them, they ...... But it was still impossible to repel the Hanko's battleships. The samurai lowered his head and reported to the shogun in horror the news he had just received, "The fort outside the river can't blast the Han Kou's battleships, so now ...... Now the Hanko are bombarding the coastal ...... of Edo"

Although he knew in his heart that the warships of the Great Han were too sharp for the ships of the shogunate to pose too much threat to them, Tokugawa Iemitsu couldn't help but want to attack when he heard his subordinates' helpless words, but he also knew that this would not help, so he had to gently put the wine glass back on the low table.

"Han Kou's warships are attacking everywhere, which was what we expected, and now that Honmaru is far away from overseas, no matter how sharp their warships are, they can't bombard here, so they can only fire a few shots indiscriminately, what's the use?" Tokugawa Iemitsu calmed himself, and then said with disdain, "You go down now, evacuate all the coastal residents to the interior, and then let them waste shells overseas......

At this moment, another samurai asked to see him outside the temple.

Because there had been a lot of military emergencies lately, it was much easier to meet Tokugawa Iemitsu than before, and the samurai was soon summoned to Tokugawa Iemitsu.

When he came in, people noticed that his face was even more ugly than the person who had just reported that the river had been attacked in the sea. He walked to the temple, then knelt down and raised his hands in front of his brow, while a close man took the document and carefully presented it to Tokugawa Iemitsu.

What's the bad news? When he saw the other party so dignified, the Tokugawa family's light heart had already sunk, which daimyo rebelled again, or did something big happen to Naotaka Ii?

With a very ominous premonition, he took the official document and read it.

When he read the handwriting, his eyes widened suddenly, and then his hands trembled uncontrollably, and then his body shook slightly, and his breathing became heavy.

The wine he had drunk suddenly tumbled and shook in his stomach, bringing with him a whirling sensation, and then, suddenly, he felt a sweetness in his throat, and then the wine in his stomach spit out directly - with some blood mixed in the middle.

"General!" When the others saw that the situation was not right, they immediately rushed over, and then supported Tokugawa Iemitsu, who was already shaking, and by this time his eyes were already dark and he had fainted.

The Shogun suddenly fainted, causing chaos in the temple and giving the group a sense of collapse and tearing down, so they hurriedly placed the Shogun on a soft couch and immediately sent someone to find a doctor, while others ran out to inform every important minister of the shogunate.

By the time Toshikatsu Doi felt inside the temple, it was already late at night.

As early as when he heard the sound of shelling coming from the sea outside the river, he was ready to be summoned by the general, but when he heard that the general was actually faint, he was still deeply shocked and hurried over.

By this time, the artillery bombardment of the Han army had stopped, and although it was not known how much actual damage they had inflicted on Edo, Doi knew that from today onwards, the residents of Edo were destined to begin to panic about the Han gunfire.

More importantly, is this an isolated act of the Han Kou, or is it accompanied by the same or even greater blow? Toshikatsu Doi was not sure, but felt that his heart was very heavy.

In the midst of his gains and losses, he came to the Omoto Hall and saw Tokugawa Iemitsu lying on a soft couch.

At this time, Tokugawa Iemitsu had woken up from a coma, but because of the vomiting blood just now, his body was still a little weak, and his face was even more pale, and he looked very depressed, and he was carefully cared for by him, and it was a ******** woman in a kimono This woman is Kasuga, she is Tokugawa Iemitsu's nursing mother, because Tokugawa Iemitsu's biological mother Chongyuan* has always disliked Iemitsu and is very indifferent to him, so she and Iemitsu are actually like mother and son, and the relationship is very deep. And after Tokugawa Iemitsu became a general, he was also very polite to this nurse, and also made her the head of the general's harem, Da O, and it was under her control that the various laws of Da Oku began to be established and completed.

However, although Kasuga is very favored, she is a very cautious and responsible person. In normal times, the Kasuga Bureau would never come in and participate when Tokugawa Iemitsu was dealing with government affairs, but because Tokugawa Iemitsu suddenly fainted today, she couldn't care so much, and after getting the message, she ran directly over to take care of the general.

Under her careful care, Tokugawa Iemitsu finally woke up and had the most basic energy to summon his most trusted shogunate.

After respectfully saluting Iemitsu, Doi sat down in front of the Shogun, waiting for the Shogun's instructions, while Tokugawa Iemitsu waved his hand, and the people who were close to him left in amusement.

Kasuga Bureau originally wanted to leave, but just as she was about to leave after saluting, Tokugawa Iemitsu suddenly held her hand tightly, and he grabbed it so tightly that it made Kasuga Bureau feel a little painful, as if he wanted to get some warmth and comfort in this way.

Kasuga's nose was sore, and she looked at Toshikatsu Doi in embarrassment, but Toshikatsu Doi didn't say anything, so she stayed, carefully grabbing Tokugawa Iemitsu's hand.

"Just now, I received a message from Miura." Next, Tokugawa Iemitsu whispered.

He was still lying down, his eyes looking at the roof as if he were talking to himself.

"Hanko's army has landed in Yokosuka, and judging by the size, it's a very large army."

"This ......" Even if he is as calm as Toshikatsu Doi, he can't help but be surprised at this time. This...... My lord...... This ......"

After a long silence, he accepted the news.

Although he had already been mentally prepared for a major event when he heard that the Tokugawa family had fainted, Doi Toshikatsu was still very shocked when he heard that Han Ko had actually landed in Kanto on a large scale.

No wonder the general was so shocked.

"You guessed it." Tokugawa Iemitsu smiled bitterly, but he looked extremely miserable, "Han Kou has indeed landed in Kanto. ”

Doi Toshikatsu was speechless for a while, he wanted to say something, but in the end he couldn't say it, so he could only sigh.

At the previous high-level meeting of the shogunate, in order to deal with the attack of the Han Kou on Kyoto, the important ministers of the shogunate had an argument, when Doi Toshikatsu suggested that the entire western country and the Kinai region should be abandoned and hold on to the Kanto region to support the change, but the shogunate boss Naotaka Iii directly refuted his opinion, and then asked to lead a large army to a decisive battle with the Han Kou to try to recover Kyoto, at least to keep the Han Kou out of Mikawa.

At that time, Doi Toshikatsu complained about this, and asked Naotaka Ikai what he should do if he took the army with him now, and the Han invaders landed in the Kanto region when the Han Dynasty now had absolute maritime superiority. As a result, Naotaka Ii didn't think that this would happen at all, he felt that the main force of the Han Kou was now fighting fiercely in Jinai, and as long as he went with the army, they would have no time to separate.

As it turned out, Toshikatsu Doi's concerns were right, and after the old man Naotaka left Kanto with a large army, Hanko really landed in Kanto.

However, Doi Toshikatsu would rather have guessed wrong now, because the landing of the Han Kou in the Kanto region was tantamount to another heavy blow to the already stormy shogunate, and this time it may be even more deadly than the previous blow - Yokosuka is on the edge of Edo Bay, only more than a hundred miles away from Edo, and after the Han Ko lands here, he can directly threaten the throat of the shogunate, which makes people feel like a fish in the throat.

"Now, is there anything else you can do?" With a little helplessness and anticipation, Tokugawa Iemitsu asked his chief lieutenant again, "How do you think we should deal with Han Ko?" ”

Doi Toshikatsu lowered his gaze and fell into a deep groan, but after thinking about it, he couldn't think of any particularly good way.

"When we got the news, the Han Kou had already landed for half a day, and now that they have a firm foothold, I am afraid it will be difficult for us to directly shake them and push them into the sea." After a long time, he said with a little difficulty, "The terrain of the Miura Peninsula is long and narrow, and we have no way to send a large army to fight a decisive battle, and now that the Han Kou are in full swing, they must also be looking forward to our army......

"So shouldn't the whole army be allowed to attack the Han Kou?" Although he said it in a flickering voice, Tokugawa Iemitsu understood what he meant.

"Yes, General." Toshikatsu Doi has now been outspoken. "After all, it's easier to defend than to attack"

Since Ii Naotaka left Edo with a large army, although there are still a large number of shogunate troops in Kanto, the numbers seem to be very staggering, but only one-fifth of them can be fought or even lower, and even if they are worthy of war, they are much worse than the elite soldiers of the Han Kou, so Doi Toshikatsu was reluctant to send a large army to Yokosuka to fight the Han Kou in a decisive battle and push them into the sea, but carefully adhered to the shrinking defense strategy that he had established from the beginning.

What's more, the terrain is not conducive to the attack of the army, and in the narrow isthmus, if the army encounters the extremely sharp sea and land artillery fire of the Han Kou, the consequences are unimaginable.

"Then you mean to hold on to Edo?" Tokugawa Iemitsu asked rhetorically.

"Yes, the only feasible strategy now is to hold on to Edo and concentrate the army here to fight the Han Kou." Doi Toshikatsu nodded immediately, but his tone had become very heavy, "Since the enemy army has landed in Yokosuka, they will naturally not just wait there, they will definitely advance to Edo, and then we will have a decisive battle with the Han Kou...... And now, we should do whatever it takes to strengthen the city's defenses and shrink them. ”

Tokugawa Iemitsu chewed on the other party's words, and then his head began to hurt, and his thoughts slowly became blurry, and he was a little dizzy, and he forcibly bit his lip and regained a little consciousness.

"Then do as you say, gather everyone, stick to Edo, and delay the Han Kou."

"Don't be too anxious, my lord." Seeing Tokugawa Iemitsu in such pain, Doi Toshikatsu couldn't help but comfort him, "Although the Han Kou ships are strong and the guns are sharp, their transport ships are limited after all, and it is impossible to transport too many people to Kanto, and besides, there will inevitably be some people in the Han Kou who are entangled with Naokoko, so ...... Therefore, as far as the minister can see, the number of Han Kou who landed in the Kanto region is not too large! As long as...... As long as we can hold on to Edo and consume the enemy's forces, we will eventually ...... After all, there is still hope for ......"

His words in front of him were impassioned, but his voice became quieter and quieter in the back, obviously he was not particularly sure about this, just to cheer up the general.

However, even so, Tokugawa Iemitsu was finally relieved, and a little blood finally appeared on his face.

"That's how it should be...... It should be ......"

"As for the army on the side of Nao Xiaogong, let's withdraw it as soon as possible!" Doi Toshikatsu immediately advised, "Since the Han Kou have landed in the Kanto region, there is no point in continuing to fight them in, but it will only contain and disperse the forces of our army...... If there is a return from Nao Xiaogong, then at least we can increase our defense force, and we can also flank the Han Kou and give them more containment. ”

"yes, it's time to call them back!" Tokugawa Iemitsu immediately agreed to his suggestion. "Go and draw up an order, and call them back to Edo at once."

Now that the situation is so severe, he is really a little out of breath, so he no longer wants to have any face for the shogunate or take back Kyoto, and only wants to quickly remove the trouble in his heart so that the shogunate can tide over the current crisis.

After Doi Toshikatsu's words, Tokugawa Iemitsu's heart that had been hanging in the air was finally put down, although it was still in crisis, but at least he saw a little bit of the way and knew what to do, instead of despair like just now.

However, Toshikatsu Doi doesn't just want to say that.

After hesitating for a moment, he finally emboldened.

"My lord, why don't we send another envoy and go directly to Yokosuka to negotiate with the Han Kou, if ...... If their conditions can be relaxed a little, we might as well just agree to them! ”

Tokugawa Iemitsu's eyes widened suddenly, and then he glared at Toshikatsu Doi.

"Is this to bring me to the disgrace of the alliance under the city?!"

"My lord, a momentary humiliation is not terrible! Wasn't the god also committed to Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi? As long as the result is good, then what is the slightest humiliation in the middle? Doi Toshikatsu did not back down, he still insisted on his opinion, "As long as the shogunate and the Tokugawa family can be preserved, even if it is an alliance under the castle, it can accept the ...... a little."

Tokugawa Iemitsu froze, and after a moment of silence, he finally closed his eyes.

"You can try it again, but I don't think Han Kou will easily agree."

"Even if there is little hope, give it a try." Doi Toshikatsu sighed, and finally bowed down again, touching the ground with his head, "The minister must step up the handling of various affairs and share the worries of the general!" ”

"Alright, you go down first, I'm going to rest." Tokugawa Iemitsu waved his hand weakly, motioning for him to leave for the time being.

After Doi Toshikatsu left, Tokugawa Iemitsu's originally slightly condensed strength suddenly disappeared again, and he collapsed on the soft couch, and his whole body began to sweat profusely.

The nursing mother next to her, the Kasuga Bureau, saw that she was heartbroken and sad, and she couldn't help but shed tears, just to keep Jiaguang from being sad, so she didn't cry.

"My lord, now that the war is urgent, please leave Edo for the time being......

"No, no...... I'm a shogun, and I can't run away from the battle," Tokugawa Iemitsu, who still closed his eyes, replied with a wry smile, "Even if I die, I can only die in Edo." ”

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