1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 902 The Shock of the Shogunate

September 1674, 11, Osaka.

A few days ago, a heavy snowfall in early winter covered the entire Osaka City, and the world suddenly became a pure silver-white world.And the earth-shattering battle that took place on the Hirano River not far from Osaka City was also buried in the boundless wilderness by the heavy snow.

Six days ago, this large-scale battle lasted only half a day before it came to an end, but the result of the battle left the world dumbfounded.

More than 2 shogunate troops died in battle, more than 240 were killed, more than 22 were injured, more than 630 were captured, and the loss reached 64%.In contrast, the loss of the coalition forces was extremely slight, with [-] five killed ([-] killed by the Qi army), [-] six wounded ([-] injured by the Qi army), and a loss of only more than [-] people.Moreover, most of the injured can be rescued in time and can quickly resume combat effectiveness.

After the war, Masatoshi Hotta, the general of the Shogunate Army, handed over the command to Tokugawa Mitsutomo of the Owari Domain (family name), and committed suicide at Tennoji Temple.More than a dozen retainers and warriors who were serving immediately shouted loudly: "The lord has committed suicide! We wait for the loyal men, let's go with the lord."

They then set fire to Tennoji Temple, and quickly lined up in a row in the smoke. They all committed seppuku, and then endured severe pain and jumped into the sea of ​​flames.

When the coalition forces were cleaning the battlefield, after hearing about this incident, they ordered the captured shogunate soldiers to collect the bones of Masatoshi Hotta and the samurai servants who died, and gave them extremely high courtesy.Fighting and killing each other on the battlefield naturally requires all means, but for the generous enemy commander who committed suicide, the officers and soldiers of the coalition army still have a minimum of respect.

That day, when the coalition forces returned to Osaka City with a victorious force, the entire city residents were terrified and terrified, whether it was the shogunate officials who temporarily appease the hearts of the people, or the many businessmen who were forced to "donate" their property, as well as countless civilians, ronin, Those who are curious all show a respectful and respectful attitude.

The Qi army fought against more than [-] shogunate troops with less than [-] troops, but finally defeated the shogunate army at a small price and in only half a day.Such achievements can be said to be unprecedented in Japanese history, enough to shine through the world.

The wilderness outside the city was divided into more than ten temporary prisoner-of-war camps, and more than [-] shogunate prisoners and wounded were lying (sitting) there with a dejected expression, silently waiting for their unknown fate.

In just five days, more than [-] shogunate soldiers died in the cold winter night in the captive camp due to injuries, cold and hunger.As a result, countless graves immediately appeared in the wilderness outside Osaka City.

"Don't treat those shogunate prisoners too harshly. You still need to provide them with some necessary warm clothes and basic food supplies." Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces, Commander of the Ryukyu Fleet, and General Zhenguo (Lieutenant General) Wan Changshu stood on the tower Looking at the citizens of Osaka in twos and threes outside the prison camp in the distance feeding food to the soldiers of the shogunate, I couldn't help but feel pity, and turned to Su Zhongfu and said: "After all, we still have to deal with the Japanese in the future, don't kill Mrs. It's heavy."

Su Zhongfu glanced at the situation outside the city, and disapproved of the Bodhisattva heart shown by the commander-in-chief of the coalition forces. As a senior navy general, he naturally did not witness the madness and tyranny of the Japanese on the land battlefield. The desolation and pity of the captives.

You must know that even after the defeat of the shogunate army that day, there were still many injured and fallen samurai who were stubborn and stubborn, making the last resistance before dying, which caused the officers and soldiers of the coalition forces to suffer a lot of hidden losses.As a result, when the coalition forces took in prisoners, all shogunate soldiers who refused to lay down their weapons were shot on the spot or stabbed to the ground by bayonets.

However, he is General Zhen Guo, with a military rank higher than his own, and he is also the commander-in-chief of the coalition forces in name. Although Su Zhongfu slandered the navy, he still followed his request and turned around to order the logistics staff around him to go to Daban City immediately. The shogunate officials improved the living conditions of the prisoner camp one or two.

"I reckon that the war may be coming to an end." Wan Changshu looked back at the silver-clad Osaka City, and said leisurely: "The special envoy for peace talks sent by the mainland has arrived in Ryukyu and will arrive in Osaka soon. Come down and negotiate peace."

"The shogunate is willing to talk about peace?... What if they don't want to stop the war?" Su Zhongfu asked.

"A few days ago, you wiped out more than [-] shogunate troops in a battle outside Osaka City, and less than [-] fled back to Kyoto. Moreover, they lost their helmets and armor, and had no food and equipment. It is unbearable to fight any more." Wan Changshu smiled. Said: "Do you think that the shogunate still has the strength, or the courage to organize a larger army to fight us again? Presumably at this time, after the Tokugawa family received the defeat report, they must be eager to fight with us." peace talks."

"It's a pity." Su Zhongfu said regretfully: "Our coalition forces are still thinking about attacking Edo, and went directly to take over the old nest of the shogunate."

"If the shogunate is overthrown, the whole of Japan will inevitably fall into a chaotic world of vassal hegemony again. In that case, who do we turn to to sign a peace agreement, and how to ask for the planned compensation?" Wan Changshu said: "Furthermore, Well, if Japan falls into civil strife, then we probably won’t be able to sell a huge amount of domestic industrial goods to them in the future, at most we can only sell some ordnance supplies. ... This is a huge market with a population of more than tens of millions!"

"When we made plans before the war, didn't we want to split Japan to a limited extent?" Su Zhongfu asked: "Why do we want to avoid excessively weakening the power of the shogunate now?"

"Because Japan is much weaker than we expected." Wan Changshu said softly: "In the past two months, your landing troops have occupied Osaka, Kyoto, Nara and other Gyeonggi areas at almost no cost. A few days ago, they wiped out more than [-] shogunate troops with a small loss, and dealt a heavy blow to the Tokugawa family. If the fight continues and the main force of the shogunate army is exhausted, then it will be used as wedding clothes for others."

"You mean King Yong of Yunzhou?" Su Zhongfu's expression changed.

"That's right! Yunzhou Town took advantage of the winter slack season to gather more than 70 township soldiers, successively defeated the Mutsu Hirosaki Fan and the Hachinohe Fan, and invaded the territories of the Morioka Fan and Kubota Fan (Akita Fan). The trend of annexing the northern part of Japan in one fell swoop." Wan Changshu said: "Half a month ago, the navy of Yunzhou Town brought more than [-] local soldiers to land on Sado Island, seized the most critical gold mining area of ​​the shogunate, and plundered gold and silver. More than [-] taels. Hehe... If we smash Japan, the power of Yunzhou Town will penetrate into Japan's Oshima. In the future, it will inevitably form a situation that is difficult to control!"

"This Yongwang will seize the opportunity and expand his territory to Japan's Oshima!" Su Zhongfu couldn't help laughing, "In addition, in the past two months, the military and civilian ships belonging to Yunzhou Town have continuously transferred supplies and supplies from Osaka. The population is eager to scrape the Gyeonggi area three feet away and plunder everything they see to supplement the needs of Yunzhou. However, the territory occupied by Yunzhou Town is all in the coastal area, even if it is expanded in Japan, With the strength of our Qi navy, how can we not control it?"

"Balance!" Wan Changshu smiled slightly, "What our Qi State needs is a balance of forces in the region, so that we can exert our Qi State's strong influence and control the local situation. One is too powerful The Yunzhou Town, which is not in line with our strategic layout in the area."
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April 11, Edo.

Kazuna Tokugawa, the Japanese general who conquered barbarians, was pale, sitting on a soft bed, breathing rapidly, his chest heaving up and down violently, looking gloomyly at several old middlemen and elders kneeling in the hall.

"Let's talk about it, what should we do next?" Tokugawa Kazuna took a deep breath and said slowly.

"My lord, let's make peace with the Qi State." The old middleman Abe Zhengneng sighed, "We can't fight anymore. Otherwise, our shogunate will consume too much strength, and it may be difficult to suppress the domestic feudal clans!"

"No peace talks!" Another veteran Inaba Masahiro said sharply, "If the troops are called off to make peace, what is the prestige of the shogunate? After such a small setback, they easily bowed their heads to the Nanban Qi State. How will the domestic vassals view this matter?" ? My lord, please be careful!"

"Small setback?" Abe Zhengneng snorted coldly, "More than [-] troops, most of which were lost, and more than ten feudal lords were trapped in the battle, and less than [-] soldiers and horses were able to escape safely back to Kyoto!... This is what Inaba-kun said. The so-called small setback?"

"..." Masayoshi Inaba's expression froze, and then he glared at Masaneng Abe angrily, "Although more than [-] troops were lost in the Battle of Osaka, it was not enough to hurt our shogunate. You need to know, Back then, Ieyasu (Tokugawa Ieyasu) was defeated by the Takeda family when he fought in Mikatahara. He retreated to Hamamatsu Castle, but he was able to muster up his remaining courage, and finally turned the tables and swallowed Takeda. However, our shogunate still has strength, and it is even stronger than before. , How can we just fall into a slump and talk about peace talks when the war is slightly frustrated?"

"In addition, our shogunate army lost more than [-] troops in Osaka, so the Qi State must also suffer a great loss of vitality and lack of troops. Qi State is far away from Japan by tens of thousands of miles. How can we replenish the lost troops in time? Therefore, our shogunate should once again assemble and recruit warriors from all feudal vassals, send the generals to lead the army, and then go to Osaka to fight against Qi again, so as to show the prestige of our shogunate!"

"How do you know that after defeating the [-]-strong army of the Hotabe, the army of Qi State has been severely weakened and its strength is low?" Masano Abe asked back.

"Even if the army of the Qi State is powerful, there will be at least a five-to-one loss, right?" Inaba Masayoshi said: "There are reports from various reports before that the army strength of the Qi State is around [-]. So, the Battle of Osaka, the reason why The remaining troops may have been lost by more than half. Under such circumstances, how can we lightly talk about peace and indulge this enemy?"

"Inaba-kun, there is no denying that our shogunate army suffered a disastrous defeat in the battle of Osaka. As for the news about the loss of the Qi army's strength, the report ahead is also unclear. I mean this is just speculation and estimation out of thin air, so I can't be the lord Please refer to the decision-making details!" Abe Zhengneng said loudly: "Perhaps, it is not impossible for the Qi army to defeat our shogunate army with little loss and the same combat power!"

"Hmph, the army of the Qi State is not a divine soldier, so it is possible that it will lose ten to one with our shogunate army?" Inaba Masayoshi turned to look at Tokugawa Kazuna, "My lord, please issue the call-up order again , You only need to assemble an army of [-], and you can fight against Qi again. If you are not talented, please lead the army. If you are not victorious, you should die to thank the world!"

Tokugawa Iezuna gently rubbed the temples on both sides of his forehead with his right hand, and his head became dizzy for a while.

Because he was born with a weak body, he was often bedridden and unable to see things. All the affairs of the shogunate were entrusted to the elder and several elders.But two days ago, there was a sudden report of defeat from Kyoto. More than [-] shogunate troops led by Masatoshi Horita were defeated by the Qi State in Osaka Castle, with a loss of [-] troops. , and there is no food and equipment, the situation is precarious.

After Tokugawa Ietsuna heard the news, he was out of breath and fainted immediately.

After some first aid by doctors and monks, Tokugawa Iezuna recovered his consciousness yesterday. After raising him overnight, he regained his energy a little in the afternoon today, and eagerly summoned the elders of the shogunate and several elders to discuss the matter. How to deal with this matter.

Hearing the debate between Masanori Inaba and Masanori Abe, he felt a little dizzy, his ears were ringing, his expression was a little dazed, and he was a little at a loss for what to do, as if it made sense.Although Qi won a battle, it will inevitably suffer losses. Maybe it will be wiped out by gathering troops and horses to fight against it again.But if the opponent's combat strength is not damaged, and the shogunate army suffers another defeat, it will not only lose the prestige of the Tokugawa clan, but even lose the capital in their hands.

"Old man, what do you think?" Tokugawa Ietsuna closed his eyes and meditated for a while, then turned his head to look at the eldest brother Sakai Tadakiyo who had been silent all the time.

"My lord, this subject thinks that we still have to...fight one more time." Sakai Tadaki said in a deep voice, "If it is only the battle of Osaka, we will easily bow our heads, make compromises, and start a peace negotiation with the Qi Kingdom, and the prestige of our shogunate will be wiped out. Without it, all the feudal vassals in the country may be ready to move and have unreasonable thoughts."

"My lord, I also agree with Sakai-kun and Inaba-kun's proposal, let's fight Naqi again!" the old man Tsuchiya straightened his back and suggested to Tokugawa Ietsuna.

Tsuchiya Suzuo's elder brother and the lord of the Tsuchiura domain, Tsuchiya Masao, was caught in the battle of Osaka, and his life and death are unknown. As a direct brother, he naturally wanted to avenge his brother and support the dispatch of troops to attack Qi.

"My lord, I can't fight any more!" Seeing that the elder and several other senior middlemen even supported sending troops to conquer Daban again to fight against Naqi, he immediately became a little anxious, "My lord, even if we can defeat Naqi Annihilation of all the invading soldiers and horses of the country, but it is not of great benefit to our shogunate. Moreover, the country of Qi also has a strong sea power, and it can completely block our coast of Japan with its many gunboats and cut off our Foreign trade and offshore material transportation!"

"Our domestic production is abundant, and there are a lot of materials. There is no need for foreign trade, and we can be self-sufficient without any shortage." Inaba Masari said: "If this is the case, let the Qi State blockade the coast and cut off trade. In this way Come, it happens that the "Ordinance Prohibiting Foreign Traffic and Trade" promulgated by Tai Yuin (the third shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu) that year."

"..." Abe Masano looked at Masanori Inaba in astonishment, was stunned for a while, then turned his head to look at Tadaki Sakai, Kazunao Tsuchiya and others with determined expressions, gritted his teeth, sighed, and said softly: "You will regret for the rest of your life for today's discussion!"

(End of this chapter)