p>The loud noise shook everywhere, and almost everyone's face changed color at the same time. what happened? Was there an earthquake? Everyone was looking at each other, even Tokugawa Iemitsu was a little surprised. However, while they were still wondering, the loud noise continued, as if some god in the sky was beating a war drum heavily. Tokugawa Iemitsu was a little confused at first, but soon, as if he thought of something, he suddenly opened his eyes wide, and then walked directly to the window sill. Because there was a high wall on the edge of the city, he could not see the city outside. However, the intermittent noises and the faint light of fire coming towards the sea finally confirmed his most terrifying guess. . "I really didn't expect that they were coming directly nowthese Han invaders" He suddenly felt dizzy and couldn't even stand still. He finally grabbed the window railing to steady himself. No, Edo was heavily defended and it was impossible for the Han invaders to land directly. Moreover, the Han invaders were now confronting Naotaka Ii's army. How could they suddenly arrive in Edo? This must be a warship from the Han Navy coming to harass. Then, he calmed down, and then forcibly concealed the anger and anxiety in his heart, then walked back to the place where he was sitting just now, and then knelt down again. In order to appear calmer, he picked up the wine glass that had just fallen to the ground, poured himself another glass of wine, and drank it in one gulp. Although his movements were calm, others could see his expression. It was so horribly pale. None of the people nearby dared to speak. Only a young attendant who was usually the most rejuvenated dared to step forward, then carefully bowed down and wiped the spilled wine on the couch for the General. His movements were very special. Gentlely, for fear of making any sound, the entire palace became extremely silent. Only the constant roar outside the window made this place look like a place where strangers lived. Soon after, a group of warriors serving beside the general came outside the palace, and were immediately summoned by him. "General, there are Han invaders attacking outside Jiang Hai!" The leading warrior knelt down and reported anxiously. 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 didn't speak, but waited for the other party's report. "The enemy's warships broke into the sea outside Jiangdu in the evening. Although our ships tried their best to attack them, they still couldn't repel the Han invaders' warships." The warrior lowered his head and was surprised. Terrified, he reported the news he had just received to the shogun, "The forts outside Edo can't blast away the Han invaders' warships, so now now the Han invaders are bombarding the coast of Edo" Although he knew in his heart that the Han invaders' battleships were too big Too sharp, the shogunate's ships could not pose much threat to them, but when he heard such helpless words from his subordinates, Tokugawa Iemitsu couldn't help but want to have a fit, but he also knew that this would not help, so he had to gently He put the wine glass back on the table. "The Han invaders' warships are attacking everywhere, which is what we expected. Now that our warships are far away from overseas, no matter how sharp their warships are, they can't bombard here. They can only fire a few shots randomly, but what's the use?" Tokugawa Iemitsu kept his composure, and then said with seeming disdain, "Go down now, evacuate all the coastal residents to the interior, and then let them waste artillery shells overseas. What the Han invaders are doing now can only prove that they have There is nothing we can do" At this moment, another warrior came outside the palace to see him. Because there have been many urgent military situations recently, it is much easier to meet Tokugawa Iemitsu now than before. The samurai was quickly summoned to appear in front of Tokugawa Iemitsu. When he came in, people discovered that his face was even uglier than the one who just reported the attack outside Jianghai. He walked into the hall, knelt down, and raised the official document in his hand to his eyebrows. A person nearby took the official document in his hand and carefully presented it to Tokugawa Iemitsu. What¡¯s the bad news again? When he saw the other party's solemn look, Tokugawa Iemitsu's heart sank. Which daimyo had rebelled again, or was something big going on with Ii Naotaka? With an extremely ominous premonition, he took the official document and read it. When he saw the handwriting clearly, his eyes suddenly widened, and then his hands began to tremble uncontrollably. Then his body also shook slightly, and his breathing became heavier. The wine I just drank suddenly rolled and shook in my stomach, bringingThere was a dizzying feeling, and then he suddenly felt a sweetness in his throat, and then he spit out the wine in his stomach - with some blood mixed in. "Sir General!" Seeing that something was wrong, the others immediately rushed over and helped Tokugawa Iemitsu, who was already swaying. At this time, his vision went dark and he fainted. The general suddenly fainted, causing chaos in the palace, and giving the group of people a sense of collapse. They hurriedly placed the general on the soft couch, and then immediately sent people to find the doctor, and there were others Then he ran out and informed every important minister of the shogunate. ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????OUTOUTOUT when Lao Zhongbi Doi Lisheng felt inside the palace, it was already late at night. As early as when he heard the sound of shelling from the sea outside Jiangjiang, he had already prepared to be summoned by the General. However, when he heard that the General had fainted, he was still deeply shocked and hurried to Come over. At this time, the Han army's bombardment had stopped. Although he didn't know how much actual damage they caused to Edo, Doi Toshikatsu knew that from today on, the residents of Edo were destined to start panicking about the Han invaders' artillery fire. . More importantly, was this an isolated act by the Han invaders, or was it accompanied by an equally or even greater blow? Doi Toshi was not sure, and felt very heavy in his heart. While worrying about gains and losses, he came to the palace hall and saw Tokugawa Iemitsu lying on the soft couch. At this time, Tokugawa Iemitsu had woken up from his coma, but he was still a little weak because of the blood he had just vomited. His face was even more pale and he looked very depressed. The person taking care of him carefully was a man in a kimono. ********This woman is Kasuga Bureau, she is Tokugawa Iemitsu's wet nurse, because Tokugawa Iemitsu's biological mother Chongyuan* has never liked Iemitsu and is very indifferent to him, so she In fact, Ie Mitsu and Ie Mitsu had a close love as mother and son, and their relationship was very deep. After Tokugawa Iemitsu became a shogun, he was also very courteous to the wet nurse, and even made her the manager of the shogun's harem, Daiou, and it was she who Under his control, Daao's various procedures began to be established and completed. However, although Kasuga Bureau is very favored, she is actually a very cautious and conscientious person. Normally, the Kasuga Bureau would never get involved when Tokugawa Iemitsu was handling government affairs, but because Tokugawa Iemitsu suddenly fainted today, she didn't care so much anymore, and ran away immediately after receiving the report. Come and 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 officials. After respectfully saluting Iemitsu, Doi Toshikatsu knelt and sat in front of the shogun, waiting for the shogun's instructions. Tokugawa Iemitsu waved his hand, and the people who came close to him left knowingly. Kasuga Bureau originally wanted to leave, but just when she was about to leave after saluting, Tokugawa Iemitsu suddenly held her hand tightly. He held it so tightly that it even hurt Kasuga Bureau. As if he wanted to get some warmth and comfort in this way. Kasuga's nose felt sore, and she looked at Doi Toshikatsu in embarrassment, but Doi Toshikatsu didn't make any sign, so she stayed and carefully held Tokugawa Iemitsu's hand. "Just now, I received news from Miura." Next, Tokugawa Iemitsu whispered. He was still lying down, looking at the roof, as if talking to himself. "The Han invaders' army has landed in Yokosuka, and judging from the size, it is a very large army." "This" Even someone as calm as Doi Toshikatsu couldn't help being surprised at this time. "This sir this" After being incoherent for a while, he fell silent and accepted the news. Although he had already been mentally prepared for something big to happen when he heard that Tokugawa Iemitsu had fainted, Doi Toshikatsu was still shocked when he heard that the Han invaders actually landed in Kanto in large numbers. No wonder the general received such a strong impact. "You guessed it right." Tokugawa Iemitsu smiled bitterly, but he looked extremely miserable, "Han invaders have indeed landed in Kanto." Doi Toshikatsu was speechless for a moment. He wanted to say something, but in the end he couldn't. All he could do was sigh. In the previous high-level meeting of the shogunate, in order to deal with the Han invaders' attack on Kyoto, the important ministers of the shogunate had a debate. At that time, Doi Toshikatsu suggested abandoning the entire Western Kingdom and the Kinai region and sticking to Kanto to wait for the change. However, the shogunate elder Ii Naotaka directly refuted his opinion, and then asked to lead a large army to fight the Han invaders in an effort to regain Kyoto and at least block the Han invaders beyond Sanhe. At that time, Doi Toshikatsu was quite critical of this, and asked Naotaka Ii what to do if the Han invaders landed in Kanto if he took away the army now that the Han had absolute maritime superiority. As a result, Ii Naotaka didn't think this would happen at all. He felt that the main force of the Han invaders was currently fighting fiercely in Kinai, and as long as he led the army forward, they would have no time to spare. The results proved that Doi Toshi's concerns were right. After the elder Ii Naotaka left Kantung with the army, the Han invaders really landed in Kantung. But Doi Toshiki now prefers that he guessed wrong, because the Han invaders' landing in Kanto is tantamount to another heavy blow to the already precarious shogunate, and this time it may be more deadly than the previous blow - Yokosuka is there On the edge of Edo Bay, it is only more than a hundred miles away from Edo. After the Han invaders land here, they can directly threaten the throat of the shogunate and make people feel like they are stuck in their throats. "Now, what else can you do?" With a little helplessness and hope, Tokugawa Iemitsu once again asked his chief veteran, "How do you think we should deal with the Han invaders?" Doi Toshikatsu lowered his gaze. , fell into deep thought, but after much thought, he didn't think of any particularly good way. "When we got the news, the Han invaders had already landed for a long time. Now that their foothold is stable, we may not be able to directly shake them and push them into the sea." After a long time, he said with some difficulty, "The terrain of the Miura Peninsula is long and narrow. , we have no way to send a large army to fight with them, and now that the Han invaders are at their peak, they must be looking forward to our army" "So shouldn't the entire army attack the Han invaders?" Although he said it? He was evasive, but Tokugawa Iemitsu still understood what he meant. "Yes, Lord General." Doi Toshiki now spoke frankly. "After all, defense is easier than offense." Since Naotaka Ii left Edo with his army, although there are still a large number of shogunate troops gathered in Kanto, the numbers look very alarming, but only one-fifth or even lower of them can fight. Moreover, even those who are capable of fighting are far inferior to the elite soldiers of the Han invaders. Therefore, Doi Toshiki was not willing to think about sending a large army to Yokosuka to fight the Han invaders and push them into the sea. Stick to the shrinking defensive strategy that you established from the beginning. What's more, the terrain is very unfavorable for the army to attack. In the narrow isthmus, if the army encounters the extremely sharp sea and land artillery fire of the Han invaders, the consequences will be disastrous. "Then you mean to stick to Edo?" Tokugawa Iemitsu asked. "Yes, the only feasible strategy now is to stick to Edo and concentrate the army here to fight against the Han invaders." Doi Toshiki nodded immediately, but his tone had become very serious, "Since the enemy troops have landed in Yokosuka , naturally they will not just wait there, they will definitely advance towards Edo, and then we will fight the Han invaders But now, we should consolidate the city defense and shrink the defense at all costs. " Tokugawa Iemitsu. After chewing on the other person's words, his head began to hurt, his thoughts gradually became blurred, and he felt a little dizzy. He bit his lip forcefully and regained some clarity. "Then do what you say. Gather everyone, stick to Edo, and delay the Han invaders." "Sir, don't be too anxious." Seeing Tokugawa Iemitsu in such pain, Doi Toshiki I couldn't help but comfort him, "Although the Han invaders have strong ships and powerful guns, their transport ships are limited after all, and it is impossible to transport too many people to Kanto. Besides, some of the Han invaders will definitely be entangled with Nao Xiaogong. So so from what I can see, the number of Han invaders who landed in Kanto will not be too many! As long as as long as we can hold on in Edo and consume the enemy's strength, after all there is still hope" His first words were impassioned, but his voice became quieter and quieter later on. Obviously, he was not particularly sure about this and was just trying to encourage the general. However, even so, Tokugawa Iemitsu finally felt some relief, and a little color finally appeared on his face. "It should be so it should be so" "As for Naotakagong's army, it's better to withdraw as soon as possible!" Doi Toshikatsu immediately suggested, "Since the Han invaders have landed in Kanto in large numbers, it is enough to continue fighting them in Kinki. It doesn¡¯t make much sense anymore. Instead, it will only dilute and distract our troops If there is support from Lord Naohyo, then at least we can increase our defense strength and attack the Han invaders, giving them more restraint. " "Yes, It¡¯s time to call them back!¡± Tokugawa Iemitsu immediately agreed to his suggestion. "Go and draw up an order and ask them to come back to support Edo immediately." The situation is so serious now that he can't even breathe.Since then, he no longer cares about the shogunate's reputation or his ambitions such as taking back Kyoto. He just wants to quickly get rid of the hidden troubles so that the shogunate can survive the current crisis. After Doi Toshiki's words, Tokugawa Iemitsu's originally hanging heart was finally put down. Although there are still many crises now, at least he has seen a little bit of the road and knows what to do, instead of just like Such despair just now. However, Doi Toshikatsu didn¡¯t just want to say that. After hesitating for a moment, he finally got bold. "Sir, why don't we send another envoy and go directly to Yokosuka to negotiate with the Han invaders? Ifif their conditions can be relaxed a little, we might as well agree to them directly!" Tokugawa Iemitsu suddenly opened his eyes. Then he glared at Doi Toshiki. "Do you want me to suffer the humiliation of the alliance under the castle?!" "My lord, a temporary humiliation is not terrible! Didn't the Lord God also surrender to Lord Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi back then? As long as the result is good, then even if you suffer a little in the middle What does humiliation mean?" Doi Toshiki did not flinch. He still insisted on his opinion, "As long as the shogunate and the Tokugawa family can be preserved, even the alliance under the castle can be accepted" Tokugawa Iemitsu was stunned and silent. After a moment, he finally closed his eyes. "You can try again, but I don't think the Han invaders will agree easily." "Even if the hope is slim, we have to give it a try." Doi Toshikatsu sighed, and finally bent down again, with his head After touching the ground, "I must step up to handle various affairs and share the worries of the general!" "Okay, you go down first, I want to take a rest." Tokugawa Iemitsu waved his hand feebly, indicating that he would leave temporarily. After Doi Toshikatsu left, Tokugawa Iemitsu's strength that he had gathered suddenly disappeared. He collapsed on the soft couch, and his whole body began to sweat profusely. The wet nurse Kasuga next to her felt heartbroken and sad when she saw it. She couldn't help but shed tears. She just didn't cry out in order to prevent Iemitsu from being sad. "Sir, the war is urgent now. Please leave Edo for the time being" "No, no I am a general. I can't escape before the battle," Tokugawa Iemitsu, who still closed his eyes, replied with a wry smile, "Even if I die, I I can only die in Edo."