After some consideration, Inaba Masatoshi decided to agree to the harsh conditions offered by the Han envoys in exchange for their support for his master, Tokugawa Tadanaga, to become the Tokugawa family's governor after the war. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

Although he was only negotiating on behalf of Tokugawa Tadanaga and did not have the authority to make a statement, with his knowledge of his master, he knew that it was only a matter of time before Tokugawa Tadanaga agreed to this proposal.

Moreover, there was no choice between living in seclusion in the mountains and forests for the rest of his life and becoming the governor of the Tokugawa family.

During this period of time, Kobe suddenly became the focus of attention throughout Japan, with envoys coming and going everywhere to negotiate with the Han according to their own interests.

After sending off the envoys sent by Tokugawa Tadacho, Zhou Pu did not stop, but continued to receive the envoys sent to him by various forces in other places, and according to the needs of the interests of the Han Dynasty, he either encouraged them warmly or spoke harshly, and used various means to win them over or intimidate them, so that they could act according to their own will.

After a period of negotiation with him, he had roughly sorted out the intentions and movements of the various forces, and also figured out what they wanted from him, and he knew that now all parties had been shocked by the victory of the Great Han all along, and basically no one wanted to fight to the death with the Great Han except for the shogunate, but they were worried that the Great Han would regard them as enemies, so they did not dare to express their position at all.

Therefore, in order to calm the hearts of these people, Zhou Pu emphasized again and again that the Han Dynasty's war against the Shogunate was only to punish the Shogunate and Tokugawa Iemitsu and support the Japanese Imperial Court's discipline, as long as they did not support the Shogunate, nor did they oppose the Imperial Court, and accepted the imperial court's security with peace of mind, then they would not encounter the blow of the Great Han.

Today, his promise has become more and more powerful, although the right minister of the imperial court, Nijo Yasudo, is also among Kobe, and then not many people come to Nijo Yasudo to pay courtesy, but instead offer all kinds of gifts and flattery to Zhou Pu - although Zhou Pu is very respectful of the imperial court on the surface, but of course these people know who in Japan has the final say, now and in the future.

And when he coordinated the relationship with the various forces, the rest of the entire army was nearing the end, and it was time to continue the march.

In the past few days, Zhou Pu has gathered his senators and the generals of the Japanese feudal army to discuss the future advance plan.

In the beginning, Zhao Song's main task assigned to their army was to try their best to march in, contain more shogunate troops, and create conditions for the main force of the Han army to move forward, but Zhou Pu and his chief senator Huang Changguo did not see it that way, in order to make more meritorious achievements, they wanted to expand the momentum of their army and strive for greater results.

However, even they did not expect that their march would be such a great achievement, and they marched north from the southernmost territory of the Mori family on the island of Honshu, relying on the appeal of the imperial court along the way, and fighting against the Japanese feudal armies under them.

Buoyed by this series of victories, Zhou Pu and Huang Changguo's appetite grew, and they were determined to go further into the heart of Honshu Island, preferably directly into Kyoto. When they obtained heavy artillery from Zhao Song and won the battle of Himeji Castle with great determination, they were shocked to find that Kyoto was really close at hand.

During this time, they had been deliberately collecting information about the shogunate army in the region, and with the help of the wealthy merchants and wealthy clans who had defected to the Great Han, they quickly found out the situation of the enemy army on the opposite side.

Obviously, the shogunate army had not yet recovered from the shadow of the defeat at Himeji Castle, and not only was its troops damaged and a large number of experienced troops annihilated, but even its morale was weakened by the defeat. Although the shogunate had been trying to reinforce the army in the direction of Kyoto, and although the representative of the Kyoto office, Itakura Shigemune, had returned to Kyoto to reorganize his army, their vitality had not yet recovered.

The situation on Zhou Pu's side was very different, although they had also suffered heavy casualties in the Battle of Himeji before, most of their losses were only newly recruited troops, and the Han officers and soldiers who were the backbone of the army and the feudal armies of Tachibana Shimazu Mori and other domains did not suffer much loss, which can be said to be still vigorous.

In addition, after arriving in the wealthy region, the troops were well supplied, and the morale of the upper and lower levels was quickly re-raised. In addition, with the righteous name of the imperial court as a call, their army recruited new soldiers very smoothly, and even many wealthy families directly joined their families because they felt that the general trend had been decided.

Therefore, after just half a month of rest, Zhou Pu's troops have recovered to their previous strength, and even surpassed, and they are gearing up and down, waiting to get a greater reward after taking down Kyoto.

Since this is the case, Zhou Pu and Huang Changguo will naturally not let go of this God-given opportunity. They set their primary goal on Kyoto for this expedition, and all they thought about was how to take Kyoto as soon as possible, completely drive the shogunate's troops out of the Kinai region, and make the imperial court's call more justified.

However, although they were going to attack Kyoto, the mountainous terrain from Kobe to Kyoto was not a convenient route for the army, so after deliberation, they decided to take a more circuitous route.

The army first marched along the coast, passing through Nishinomiya, Amagasaki and other castles to Osaka, and after taking Osaka, they divided their troops, and several small troops marched from the south and east respectively, attacking Sakai, Nara and other places, on the one hand, containing the shogunate defenders to expand the strength of their own army, and on the other hand, attacking these prosperous places can also make the shogunate's economic pressure greater.

The main force followed the Yodo River, a river that originates in Lake Biwa and flows through Kyoto and finally into the sea in Osaka, and travels north to Kyoto and goes straight to Fushimi Castle on the southern outskirts of Kyoto.

Fushimi Castle is stuck, the gateway to the south of Kyoto, and the water transport between Osaka and Kyoto must pass through here, and the surrounding mountains make it a great location.

In the time of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the Taiko-sama, who once controlled the whole of Japan, once placed his own castle here, built a large castle here, and then placed his residence here for a time, which also became the political center of Japan for a time.

After his death, his son Toyotomi Hideyori moved the castle to Osaka Castle, which he also carefully managed, leaving it to the ministers of the Toyotomi regime, including the Five Elders, to manage the affairs of Tokugawa Ieyasu, one of the elders.

Later, Tokugawa Ieyasu's ambition to seize the world of the Toyotomi family was already revealed, and the Toyotomi retainers were divided into two factions to attack each other, and Fushimi Castle was under the guard of Tokugawa Ieyasu's trusted general, Torii Mototada. In order to pull out the nail that the Tokugawa family had buried in the western country, Ishida Mitsunari and other western generals ordered the siege of the castle, and thirteen days later the castle was breached, and Torii Mototada also died in the battle.

Tokugawa Ieyasu was greatly admired and touched by Tokugawa Mototada's loyalty, and he called this love a role model for the "Samurai of Mikawa", and in the tragic siege of the castle, most of the originally tall and magnificent Fushimi Castle was destroyed in the battle.

After the war, in order to strengthen their control over the western kingdom and to erase the last traces of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the Tokugawa family destroyed all the last vestiges of Fushimi Castle, and the original building materials in the castle were transferred to other castles.

Although there is no Fushimi Castle on the ground, the importance of Fushimi's geographical location will not change, as long as Fushimi is taken, then Kyoto is already close at hand, and it can even cut off the connection between Kyoto and the Kanto direction, making Kyoto truly a lonely city.

After agreeing on the strategy of the march, Zhou Pu did not waste any more time, and after leaving behind the necessary guards, Zhou Pu advanced towards Osaka with his entire army.

Long before the invasion, Zhou Pu had already reached a tacit agreement with the wealthy merchants in Osaka, and they had no intention of dying for the shogunate, so on the eve of Zhou Pu's march, they had already started an incident in the city, expelled the governor of Osaka Town, the governor of Osaka Town, which was set up by the shogunate in Osaka Castle, and his henchmen, and controlled Osaka Castle.

When Zhou Pu's army finally pressed under Osaka Castle after several days of marching, Osaka Castle immediately chose to surrender and fell into the hands of the Han army with almost no bloodshed.

Although the status of Osaka Castle is incomparable to that of the Toyotomi Hideyoshi era, the fall of this city into the hands of the Han army will undoubtedly bring greater shock to all forces in Japan.

Under Osaka Castle, the complacent Zhou Pu rode into Osaka Castle surrounded by guards and generals.

At this time, many citizens and merchants were surrounded on both sides, looking at him curiously, as if they wanted to take advantage of this to catch a glimpse of the envoys of the Celestial Empire.

Because Tokugawa Ieyasu besieged Osaka twice and caused tragic casualties, the residents and wealthy merchants of Osaka had no affection for the Tokugawa shogunate, and most of the people of Osaka were businessmen, and they did not take the distinction between the clans too seriously, so their attitude towards the Han was not as fearful or disgusted as in other places.

After the Han Dynasty came over, the shogunate wanted to carry out the strategy of fortifying the wall and clearing the field in the western country, but the execution in the Osaka territory was very unsmooth, and the merchants and citizens tried their best to stay, on the one hand, they did not want their family property and property to be taken away by the shogunate; On the other hand, they feel that there is nothing to be afraid of even if the big man calls, and he still has to do business when he should do business.

Among these people, there is also a rumor secretly circulating that the reason why the Tokugawa family angered the Han so much that they caused such a disaster was the heavenly punishment of Lord Taiko's spirit in the sky.

In the early morning sun, full of awe and curiosity, the red uniforms of the Han infantry were overwhelmed one by one, eclipsing the original field outside the city.

Although the number of officers and men of the Han Dynasty was small, they moved in unison, moving forward with the flags fluttering in the wind, obeying the officer's whispered commands, or stopping, or turning, or keeping a distance from the other soldiers of their own unit to form a queue, bypassing the infantry phalanx of another queue.

Behind them, the Japanese feudal armies dressed in various costumes also surged forward in neat formations, and their ranks were almost endless under the city.

And Zhou Pu rode a horse and slowly walked into Osaka City surrounded by this group of Han troops. Because he deliberately wanted to show off the might of the Han and his power among these Osaka merchants, he deliberately ordered his army to pass through the castle in the strictest posture.

The guards around him were all carefully selected by him, and they all rode solid colored horses, and they were tall, and their uniform movements and armor made them even more heroic.

Zhou Pu's purpose was achieved, and when Zhou Pu came to the city, the merchants in the city cheered him, as if they had ushered in a triumphant army. In the cheers of the crowd, his expression was solemn, he did not smile, and between his gestures, he was just like the style of Feng Taige back then.

Because the magistrates and magistrates of the shogunate in Osaka Castle have fled, Zhou Pu was greeted today by a group of wealthy merchants, and among these wealthy merchants, there was Mitsui Takamatsu, whom Zhou Pu knew.

This member of the Mitsui family, since he met and negotiated with Zhou Pu that time, turned to Dahan, determined to help Dahan fight the shogunate, so that his family could avoid this unexpected disaster, and at the same time let the Mitsui family go to a higher level.

And he did make a contribution, not only secretly sending people to sell grain and Zhou Pu's army, but also played an important role in the turmoil in Osaka Castle, so that Osaka could smoothly fall into the hands of the Han army.

For such active collaborators, Zhou Pu will of course be rewarded.

After coming to Osaka City, Zhou Pu gathered these powerful merchants, and then, as he had promised before, issued a charter to these merchants, declaring that they would be the Japanese merchants designated by the Han in the future, and the goods of the Han would only be exported through them, and the Japanese goods imported by the Han would only be handled from them.

Of course, this is not Zhou Pu's temporary arbitrary behavior, in fact, when he contacted these wealthy businessmen, he had already communicated with the domestic imperial court, and the Ministry of Commerce also agreed to this way of rewarding merit after weighing the pros and cons.

The merchants who had obtained this trade monopoly were naturally very satisfied, and they all showed their hospitality to Zhou Pu and expressed their gratitude in various ways, but Zhou Pu was now on business, so he just politely accepted their gifts and sent them away.

Although Osaka fell quickly, this was not the end of Zhou Pu's plan, so he immediately regrouped his troops and prepared for the next stage of the offensive. With the help of Huang Changguo and others, he made one deployment after another in Osaka Castle, preparing for the army to divide and attack.

The day after he came to Osaka, Togo Shigemata was summoned by Zhou Pu to his seat.

When Togo Shigemata came to Zhou Pu's residence, he was a little nervous, because although he was a samurai in the Shimazu Domain, commanded a small army, and made meritorious contributions in the previous Battle of Himeji, he was only a retainer after all, and he usually did not have the opportunity to meet the envoys of the Han Dynasty.

Like everyone else, he regarded the class as very middle, and he subconsciously felt that he was not qualified to be on a par with this adult, and he was not a smooth person, so he was not too excited when he got such an opportunity, but was a little overwhelmed.

However, perhaps in order to eliminate his nervousness, Zhou Pu received him very cordially, compared to his usual arrogance in front of various daimyos, this humble gesture simply made Togo Shigekata a little flattered.

"My lord, what do you command?" After a while of pleasantries, Togo Shigekata decided to cut to the chase as soon as possible in order to end the meeting that made him uncomfortable as soon as possible. ”

"I don't need you to die, it's just a little thing for you to do." Zhou Pu smiled, "Dongxiang, do you remember what I promised you before?" ”

Togo Shigekata was stunned for a moment, and then remembered.

In the previous reward of Himeji Castle, this lord had promised to make him a daimyo in the future. But he didn't mention it after that, and Togo Shigekata thought he was just talking casually, but he didn't expect this adult to remember it, and he really planned to fulfill this promise.

This sudden good news made his brain suddenly hot.

"Please make it clear!"

"Looks like you've remembered?" Zhou Pu was still smiling, "That's right, I'm going to give you the opportunity to make a great contribution and become a big name now." Did you know that we're going to split up our forces next? ”

"I've heard a little bit about it below." As an officer, of course, he has some knowledge of the next movements of the army, but due to the limitations of his level, he certainly can't know everything. "Next, our army will focus on Kyoto, and at the same time launch small attacks on other fronts, so that the shogunate army will not be able to take care of it."

"You're right, next we have to fight not only Kyoto, but also the east and south." Zhou Pu nodded, "This requires our army to send several diversion troops, and you, I think you can lead one of them and make meritorious contributions to our army." You...... Can you lead an army on your own? If you can do it, I'll give you a partial division against public opinion. ”

If you want to be a daimyo, you can't do it without enough merits, at least you should have the experience of commanding an army alone, so Zhou Pu decided to give him such a chance - of course, this army is only used to contain the enemy army, and there are definitely not many of them.

When the opportunity he had been longing for floated in front of him so quickly, Togo Shigekata was a little dry for a while, but he still reacted quickly.

The opportunity to make a name for yourself has finally come.

"I will sacrifice my life to complete the task and never disappoint the expectations of adults!"

In his excitement, he was suddenly extremely glad that he had had the opportunity to meet this adult. (To be continued.) )