Daming talker

Chapter 771: What to do with Ieyasu? (Part )

After the turbulent 26th year of Wanli, the court returned to peace in the 27th year of Wanli.

Although the southwest began to deploy troops on a large scale again, no one in the court believed that they could not win, and the mentality was not so anxious.

The national treasury was able to support it, and Emperor Wanli also allocated 200,000 taels of silver from the inner treasury as military expenses, so Emperor Wanli also reflected the complexity and contradictions of human nature.

Lin Tailai did not pay much attention to the war in the southwest, and most of his attention was focused on Japan.

If Governor Wang Xianggan, after more than a year of preparation and with plenty of military funds, is still unable to defeat the mere chieftain of Bozhou, then he should just find a place to end his life on his own!
However, Wang Xiangqian wrote to Suzhou every now and then, and in one of the letters he wrote: "Today, the village near where I am stationed is called Maotai. I didn't expect that there are several wineries in this remote mountain village. It is said that people have been brewing wine since the middle of the Jiajing period."

Lin Tailai felt a sense of mischief and replied, "Please buy all the wineries here for me. From now on, the wine will be sold in white porcelain bottles, and each bottle will be priced at 2,000 wen."

After Wang Xiangqian received Lin Tailai's reply, he felt that his uncle was having an intermittent illness again.

Since the death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the "ruler of the world" of Japan last year, the heir of the Toyotomi family, Toyotomi Hideyori, is only six or seven years old and relies entirely on the help of his biological mother, Lady Yodo.

The ruler is weak and the ministers are strong, and each of them has their own thoughts, so Japan can no longer live in peace.

Therefore, in the 27th year of Wanli, various news from Japan continued to be transmitted from Kyushu Island along the mature sea routes, through Korea to Dengzhou, Shandong, and then from Shandong to the capital and Suzhou by express delivery shops.

Any major event that happened in Japan could be learned by Lin Tailai in Suzhou one and a half months later. This information transmission efficiency has reached the limit under current technological conditions.

Originally, Lin Tailai was wondering whether the development of the situation in Japan would be different from the original history.

The result was the same pattern of the civil-ruling Omi faction and the arbitrary Owari faction among the Toyotomi clan's retainers splitting up and confronting each other. Although there were differences in details, the overall change was not significant.

Later, the civil faction united with the daimyo of the western provinces, led by the Toyotomi family patriarch Ishida Mitsunari, and the military faction of Toyotomi's retainers turned to the first daimyo Tokugawa Ieyasu, basically forming a situation of confrontation between the East and the West.

Ishida Mitsunari and Tokugawa Ieyasu fell out and accused each other of assassinating them.

When the news of the death of Maeda Toshiie, a heavyweight daimyo who could suppress Tokugawa Ieyasu, came, Lin Tailai knew that civil war in Japan was inevitable, just as it had happened in history.

All I can say is that human nature is the most stubborn and the most difficult to change.

Although Lin Tailai created a huge butterfly effect and supported Konishi Yukinaga, a daimyo of western Kyushu with a fortune of one million koku, he was unable to reverse the interests and conflicts among various parties in Japan.

They knew that someone was eyeing them covetously, and that the million-koku territory in western Kyushu was the forward base, but they still wanted to fight to their heart's content within Japan first. Perhaps this was the inherent weakness of the feudal system.

The world belongs to the Emperor/Shogun/Kanpaku/Taiko, and to the young lord Toyotomi Hideyori, who is only seven years old, but the territory is his own!
It has to be said that Japan in the 27th year of Wanli was much more lively than the Ming Dynasty.

There was another small event in Japan this year: Fukuoka Castle was finally built.

In the 21st year of the Wanli reign, Konishi Yukinaga returned to western Kyushu and began to build a new city in Chikuzen Province at the northern end of Kyushu Island, named Fukuoka Castle.

This place was designated by Lin Tailai, and slightly to the north you will enter the western part of Honshu Island.

It took nearly six years, and Fukuoka Castle was finally built in the 27th year of Wanli.

Then Fukuoka Castle, Fukuoka Port and its surrounding areas were designated as special areas by Konishi Yukinaga to accommodate the Ming Dynasty's Chikushi Xuanweisi garrison.

In addition, only those who obtained a license and provided services to the garrison were allowed to settle in the Fukuoka Special Ward.

Of course, in Japan, this army is called the Western Kyushu Mercenaries by the Japanese. In short, one army, each with its own interpretation.

This garrison maintains a size of over 10,000 people all year round, and has formed a stable rotation system in recent years.

Half of them were replaced every two years. The government troops were drawn from the border towns in the north and set out from Tianjin Port or Yizhou.

The 27th year of Wanli passed, and in the late spring of the 28th year of Wanli, Li Rumei, the fifth son of the Li family in Tieling, arrived in Fukuoka with 6,000 rotating government troops.

Konishi Yukinaga personally welcomed Li Rumei into Fukuoka Castle, but after entering the inner castle tower, Li Rumei was shocked to see that the great war god, Dai Fanghou Lin Tailai, was sitting inside.

"Why are you here, my lord?" Li Rumei asked in surprise.

Lin Tailai replied calmly: "I came to Japan on a secret mission to command all the officers and soldiers in Japan."

Lin Tailai then showed Li Rumei the imperial edict, seals, flags and other belongings, and reminded her, "The fact that I have arrived in Japan must be kept secret for the time being, so as not to arouse the Japanese's vigilance."

Li Rumei expressed his understanding of this. If the Japanese knew that the Tianshuai who "killed 100,000 Japanese" had arrived in Japan, they might not fight a civil war but would join forces to attack Western Kyushu first.

Later, Lin Tailai ordered through Li Rumei that the government troops that were replaced should not be withdrawn back to the country for the time being, but should join forces with the newly arrived government troops, totaling 17,000 troops.

In addition, there were 5,000 "rebels" who came from nowhere and looked like southerners, secretly serving as Lin Tailai's standard camp.

After arranging the affairs of the government troops and strengthening confidentiality education, Lin Tailai called Konishi Yukinaga for questioning.

"What did Ishida Mitsunari say?" Lin Tailai asked.

Konishi Yukinaga said distressedly: "Ishida Mitsunari is arrogant and stubborn. He thinks that I will tarnish the reputation of the Western Army and will exclude me."

The situation in Japan is now very clear. It is divided into two major groups and war is imminent.

On one side was the Western Army, led by Ishida Mitsunari, the magistrate of the Toyotomi clan, who pretended to have a sense of justice and fought against the Toyotomi clan, their lord.

The other side was the Eastern Army, led by the daimyo Tokugawa Ieyasu, who pretended to be "clearing the court" and wanted to kill the treacherous officials.

In Korea, Lin Tailai killed Otani Yoshitsugu, who was supposed to belong to the Western Army, and severely damaged the Ukita, Chosokabe, Kobayakawa, and Tachibana families of the Western Army, and completely wiped out Konishi Yukinaga's army.

But Lin Tailai also inflicted heavy damage on the Tokugawa, Fukushima, Kuroda, Asano and other families belonging to the Eastern Army, and completely wiped out Kato Kiyomasa's troops.

As a result, the paper strength comparison between the Eastern and Western armies reached a delicate balance after Lin Tianshuai committed suicide once.

Konishi Yukinaga then added: "Although I am disliked by Ishida Mitsunari of the Western Army, Tokugawa Ieyasu of the Eastern Army has expressed goodwill towards me and is trying to win me over."

Lin Tailai frowned slightly, "If I didn't come, Tokugawa Ieyasu would win. After I came, Tokugawa Ieyasu still won. Then I came for nothing, right?"

Konishi Yukinaga asked doubtfully, "Do you think Tokugawa Ieyasu's Eastern Army can win?"

"What else?" Lin Tailai asked back.

Konishi Yukinaga replied: "The Western Army has powerful clans such as Mori Terumoto, Kobayakawa Hideaki, Ukita Hideie, Shimazu Yoshihiro, and Chosokabe Morichika, and they also hold the righteousness of the Toyotomi family, so it is impossible for them to be defeated."

Lin Tailai: "."

We should let Konishi Yukinaga travel through time and space to see how you were beheaded in another time and space! Finally, Lin Tai said, "Forget it, don't think about helping anyone! They fight theirs, and we fight ours!"

Lin Tailai's original plan was to help the Western Army repel Tokugawa's Eastern Army (not annihilate it) and create a situation in which Japan was divided into east and west.

Then, he threatened the young lord Hideyori of the Toyotomi family and swallowed up the two countries of Nagato and Iwami, which were across the strait from Chikuzen, to complete the side quest of "seizing the largest silver mine".

I didn't expect that the idiot Ishida Mitsunari of the Western Army would not accept Konishi Yukinaga into the group!
Then Lin Tianshuai, who has returned to the game, can only work hard on his own to make ends meet.

By September, news came that the main forces of the Eastern and Western armies were approaching the border of Mino Province and a decisive battle was likely to take place.

The nominal commander-in-chief of the Western Army, the daimyo Mori Terumoto, who commanded a million koku, was stationed in Osaka Castle. The Western Army was commanded by Ishida Mitsunari on the front line, while the Eastern Army was led by Tokugawa Ieyasu himself as the commander-in-chief!
Lin Tailai immediately ordered the entire army stationed in Fukuoka to mobilize and be ready to dispatch troops at any time!
The latest news came in mid-September that the main forces of the Eastern and Western armies were defeated in the Battle of Sekigahara, and the Western Army commanded by Mitsunari Ishida was defeated in one day!

At the same time, the news came that the Western Army General Kobayakawa Hideaki turned the tables on the battlefield! He was later known as the God of War, one of the Three Gods of Sekigahara!
Mori Terumoto, the nominal commander-in-chief of the Western Army, commanded 30,000 troops, but he watched the Western Army lose in Osaka Castle without taking any action! He was later called the God of House, one of the Three Gods of Sekigahara!
Konishi Yukinaga just wanted to bow down to Tianshuai, this judgment was simply like that of a god.

Later, news came that Ishida Mitsunari, the leader of the Western Army who had a bad relationship with the authoritarian faction, was captured by the Eastern Army and beheaded!
This news made Konishi Yukinaga break out in a cold sweat again. If he did not have the support of the Ming Dynasty, he would most likely join the Western Army and would suffer the same fate as Ishida Mitsunari.

Lin Tailai finally issued an order to dispatch troops, leaving 2,000 soldiers to guard Fukuoka Castle and mobilizing the remaining 20,000 soldiers.

Konishi Yukinaga volunteered to go to Osaka Castle, but was rejected by Lin Tailai on the grounds that he did not want to alert the enemy too early.

At the same time, after the Western Army was defeated in the Battle of Sekigahara, people in Osaka Castle, the main castle of the Toyotomi family, were in panic.

After the famous western general Tachibana Muneshige retreated to Osaka, he proposed to Mori Terumoto, who had 30,000 soldiers, that they could hold Osaka, gather the defeated troops, and look for an opportunity to counterattack the eastern army.

Afterwards, Mori Terumoto went to meet his eight-year-old lord Toyotomi Hideyori and Hideyori's mother, Lady Yodo, but he went to say goodbye.

When Lady Yodo heard that General Mori Terumoto was going to lead his troops to retreat from Osaka Castle and head west back to his territory in Aki Province, she couldn't help but question why Mori Terumoto was unwilling to send troops to fight.

Mao Li Terumoto made an excuse: "I have to guard against the evil dragon in the southwest, so I dare not act rashly."

After the million-koku daimyo Mori Terumoto retreated from Osaka Castle, Tokugawa Ieyasu entered Osaka Castle at the end of September.

After entering the city, Tokugawa Ieyasu went to meet Toyotomi Hideyori and Lady Yodo first.

After all, in terms of status, Tokugawa Ieyasu has always claimed that the Battle of Sekigahara was a civil war within the Toyotomi family. How could he not go to see his "lord" after entering Osaka?
Looking at the eight-year-old Toyotomi Hideyori, Tokugawa Ieyasu couldn't help but think of many old friends. The images of strong men such as Imagawa Yoshimoto, Takeda Shingen, Oda Nobunaga, and Toyotomi Hideyoshi flashed through his mind one by one.

It seemed that anyone could rub themselves to the ground, but these strong men have now turned into dust.

The person sitting in front of him today was Toyotomi Hideyori, who was only eight years old. Oh, and there was also a woman named Lady Yodo next to him.

The surname he got himself, Tokugawa, came from the Minamoto family, so he could also consider becoming the Shogun, officially becoming the leader of the military family and the common ruler of the world.

As for the Toyotomi family, if you are willing to be a noble, then just be a noble and be supported as one.

The old raccoon cat, who had been patient for decades, couldn't help but lose his composure at this moment and almost laughed out loud.

But in the end, he forced himself to suppress the corners of his mouth and covered it up with a cough.

Toyotomi Hideyori looked at Tokugawa Ieyasu blankly. Lady Yodo, who was filled with grief and indignation, was helpless and could only turn a blind eye to Tokugawa Ieyasu's misconduct.

Then Tokugawa Ieyasu bowed slightly and said in a reporting tone: "I have defeated the rebels."

Lady Yodo suppressed her disgust and reminded Hideyori, "From now on, you must treat Lord Ieyasu as your father."

When you are under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. Toyotomi Hideyori nodded and said, "Yes, I will leave the affairs of the world to you for the time being."

Tokugawa Ieyasu responded with a little pride: "I will continue to share the affairs of the country with you in the future."

Once we get out, it’s time to consider establishing the Tokugawa Shogunate.

At this moment, a direct retainer of the Toyotomi family rushed out of the door, knelt down and reported:

"Urgent news! On their way back to Hiroshima Castle, the army of Mori Terumoto was suddenly ambushed in Bingo Province and almost completely annihilated. Mori Terumoto was beheaded!"

Tokugawa Ieyasu was extremely shocked. How could Mori Terumoto, who had an army of 30,000, be wiped out in an instant?

Even if the Tokugawa family mobilized its entire army, they would not be able to do this.

Mrs. Yodo asked hurriedly, "Who did it?"

The man replied, "They used the family crest of the Konishi family in Western Kyushu!"

Tokugawa Ieyasu's mind raced, and he immediately shouted, "What Konishi clan? They are the Ming army stationed in western Kyushu!"

In the past, these Ming troops were only interested in maritime trade and silver, and seemed to completely disdain the affairs of Japan. Why did they suddenly take action this time?

Moreover, based on past combat experience, the Ming army that was able to quickly annihilate the 30,000-strong Maori army definitely had more than 10,000 troops!

Then news from the West came one after another.

"A large army has been dispatched from Western Kyushu, and they have successively captured Nagato, Suo, and Aki!"

"This army, wearing the Konishi family crest and Ming-style armor, advanced to Bingo Province, intercepted and killed the overlord of the Western Province, Mori Terumoto!"

"This army is marching at a very fast speed. The vanguard cavalry is advancing rapidly along the Sanyo countries and has already arrived at Harima Province next to Osaka!"

Because except for the 30,000 troops of Mori Terumoto, the troops of the Sanyo countries were withdrawn to fight in the Battle of Sekigahara and were defeated, so they were almost in an undefended state.

Under such circumstances, the Ming army was able to fight with great momentum and seemed to be able to enter an empty territory.

Tokugawa Ieyasu, who almost got carried away and almost shouted "Who else?", was confused and even a little panicked.

At this rate, we will be able to see the Ming army’s vanguard cavalry tomorrow, and in two or three days the main force of the Ming army will be at the gates of Osaka Castle!

It is obvious that this Ming army seized the opportunity and attacked Osaka directly!

By the way, he also annihilated the 30,000-strong army of Mori Terumoto, the last military force of the Western Kingdom, eliminating his worries.

After the Battle of Sekigahara, most of the Eastern Kingdom's gathered forces were dispersed to attack the territories of the defeated daimyo, and Tokugawa Ieyasu only brought 20,000 of his own family members to Osaka Castle.

What worried Tokugawa Ieyasu was that how could he possibly resist the Ming army of the same size with only 20,000 soldiers from his own family?
After enduring so many years of hard work and racking their brains to win the Battle of Sekigahara, in the blink of an eye, they are in danger again!
Why is my life so miserable? Can't the gods and Buddhas let me live a happy life for a few days?
(End of this chapter)