Daming: Apocalypse of Longevity

Chapter 223 Edo Castle is destroyed
Based on the current situation in the Japanese country, it is difficult for the Tokugawa shogunate to mobilize the soldiers and civilians of Edo to fight against the Ming army. Not to mention that since the war between the Ming Dynasty and the Japanese country, the Japanese army led by the Tokugawa shogunate have been defeated and pinned to the ground. Friction, the Japanese people have long been frightened of the Ming army.

Just say that the current public opinion outside is absolutely unfavorable to the Tokugawa shogunate. Nowadays, remarks about the ignorance and incompetence of the Tokugawa shogunate are being spread everywhere. The Japanese people's dissatisfaction with the Tokugawa shogunate has also been spreading in Japan.

Therefore, instead of saying that the Japanese people hate the Ming army and wish to fight with the Ming army, it is better to say that the Japanese people hate the Tokugawa shogunate even more. Influenced by public opinion, more and more Japanese people believe that it is the ignorance and incompetence of the Tokugawa shogunate. , which led to the current situation, which caused the Japanese country to suffer the crisis of war and brought suffering to the Japanese people.

The Japanese people in Edo had the same idea. They originally planned to abandon the Tokugawa shogunate and leave, but they did not expect that the Tokugawa shogunate would not allow them to leave Edo, and would also force them to stay and fight with the Ming army. Fight to the death.

The Japanese people in Edo were immediately furious. Now that things have happened, if everyone doesn't get together to make trouble, it would be good to hold the Tokugawa Shogunate accountable. The Tokugawa Shogunate actually wants everyone to stay and work for them?It's simply too much!

In an instant, the Japanese people in Edo began to join forces on their own. They spontaneously formed an anti-Tokugawa shogunate alliance, and even many samurai and dignitaries joined it. Most of them had trouble getting along under the Tokugawa shogunate. Proud, the families who had long been very dissatisfied with the Tokugawa Shogunate included some former supporters of Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

Soon, the Tokugawa shogunate was surrounded by the alliance of rebels. Tokugawa Iemitsu could not have imagined that such a thing would happen. The four people among the six people who had previously proposed calling on the Edo soldiers and civilians to fight to the death to resist the Ming army suddenly panicked. Confused, Miura Shoji put on the armor himself and said he would lead his samurai retainers out to quell the rebellion.

Abe Tadaki also held a samurai sword in his hand and expressed his intention to go with Miura Shoji. Tokugawa Iemitsu did not speak and expressed his acquiescence. The other two people, Ota Shimune and Abe Shigeji, also followed.

The four of them all have their domain around Edo, either within the Musashi domain or in the surrounding domain. For example, Miura Shoji, who took the lead in going out to suppress the rebellion and had to fight the Ming army to the death, his domain was In Xia Zongfan, which is now occupied by the Ming army, he naturally has to fight for his life.

But having said that, even if some people's vassal territories have not been occupied by the Ming army, it will be a matter of time before the Ming army comes over, captures Edo, and occupies the Musashi domain, and everyone loses the vassal territory, so they don't have any choose.

Tokugawa Iemitsu had completely lost his idea at this time. Even Edo City was in chaos now. The Japanese people in Edo City had begun to resist the Tokugawa shogunate. So if they wanted to defeat the Ming army, it would be even more difficult. Possibility.

There were tens of thousands of rebels surrounding the shogunate. Although most of them were ordinary people, the leaders were some ronin or down-and-out samurai. Without these people taking the lead, how could they have formed an organized group so quickly? What about the Rebel Alliance?
Therefore, under the leadership of these ronin and samurai, these Japanese people also displayed extraordinary combat skills. Even when facing the samurai guards in the shogunate, relying on their numerical advantage, these masters in the shogunate also fought against the army. was killed under siege.

An hour later, Ota Shimune hurriedly ran into the house covered in blood, and informed Tokugawa Iemitsu that Miura Shoji and Abe Tadaki had been killed in action, and that the rebels had now entered the shogunate. As he was about to rush here, Ota Shimune asked Tokugawa Iemitsu to leave here with him as soon as possible. He was willing to escort Tokugawa Iemitsu to escape from the shogunate.

However, after hearing the news, Tokugawa Iemitsu remained motionless with a sad face. He felt that the Tokugawa family's face had been completely shamed by him. Even if he could escape today under the protection of Ota Shizune, but now Even the Japanese people in Edo Castle couldn't tolerate him. Where else in the world could tolerate him?
In desperation, Tokugawa Iemitsu slowly took out a sword from his arms and said to Ota Shizune: "Shizune, are you willing to correct my fault for this general?"

Ota Shimune was shocked when he heard this. He looked at Tokugawa Iemitsu and was stunned for a long time. Then he slowly stood up straight and nodded solemnly: "General, have you made your decision?"

Tokugawa Iemitsu nodded slowly.

As Ota Shimune walked towards Tokugawa Iemitsu, he wiped the katana in his hand with his sleeve, "Since the general has already had such an awareness, it is my honor to serve as the general's intermediary! "

Wu Sangui completed repairs in front of Edo Castle, marshaled his troops and horses, and prepared to attack Edo Castle. However, he had just marched two or three miles forward when he saw the flames of Edo City rising into the sky, and there was also a noisy and chaotic scene in Edo City.

Wu Sangui was worried that the Japanese would burn the city and flee, so he quickly urged the Ming army to speed up and rush into Edo Castle. Then he ignored the chaos in Edo and rushed directly towards the shogunate in the center. The fire was exactly It started burning like that.

When Wu Sangui rushed to the front of the shogunate, the entire shogunate had been reduced to ashes. Wu Sangui was so angry that he cursed loudly. However, at this moment, he saw a group of Japanese people wearing shabby armor and holding messy weapons coming from the opposite side.

Wu Sangui's men immediately took aim at them with muskets, but because there were only a few people coming from the opposite side, Wu Sangui did not give the order, and the Ming army did not fire rashly.

These Japanese people also showed great fear when facing the Ming army, but they still walked slowly towards the front. When they were five feet away from the Ming army, they stopped and beheaded a man from the back row. The corpses and heads were brought forward and placed on the ground in front of the team. Then they all knelt down and bowed their heads to the Ming army.

Seeing this, Wu Sangui signaled the Ming army around him to go forward and check the beheaded corpse. The corpse was very gorgeously dressed and should be a big shot. Wu Sangui guessed that it was probably the leader of the Japanese country, but no one in the Ming army was seen. After passing Tokugawa Iemitsu, it is naturally impossible to distinguish the authenticity.

Wu Sangui had no choice but to send people to collect the corpses first, and then ordered the Ming army to take back the group of Japanese people who came to present the corpses and ask about the situation.

After [-] Ming troops entered Edo Castle, they attacked the rebellious Japanese people everywhere. Some Japanese people surrendered directly when they saw the Ming army, while others rushed to kill them no matter who came. Naturally, the Ming army did the same to them. Kill without mercy.

It was not until nightfall that Edo City gradually calmed down, but the fire had spread from the shogunate to the entire Edo City. Edo City was full of wooden houses. Once a fire broke out, it was basically impossible to save it. Wu Sangui could only order The Ming army demolished the buildings in the direction of the spread of the fire in advance, and created a circle of open space. The fire burned the buildings in the middle, and then gradually extinguished.

Although the Ming army now occupied Edo, the most prosperous area in the center of Edo was burned to the ground. Wu Sangui had nothing to gain except a corpse that was not sure to be Tokugawa Iemitsu, so he felt that Very upset.

Later, the Ming army captured an old Japanese monk. This old monk had gone to the Ming Dynasty to study and practice in his youth, so he was proficient in Chinese. Wu Sangui pointed him to translate for himself. Naturally, he did not make it difficult for the Ming army, and he was okay. He was entertained with good food and drink.This old monk from the Japanese state was not bad. He was originally a pro-Ming member. He had long disliked the actions of the Japanese state over the years, so he was very cooperative with the Ming army and willingly served as Wu Sangui's translator.

Later, with the help of this old Japanese monk, Wu Sangui learned from the Japanese who came to sacrifice his body that the turmoil in Edo City occurred before the Ming army prepared to attack Edo, as well as the shogunate resistance army formed by the Japanese. In some cases, there is also the story of how the rebels besieged the shogunate and finally obtained the body of Tokugawa Iemitsu.

According to the description of the rebels, when they rushed into the shogunate, they happened to witness Tokugawa Iemitsu committing seppuku. It was Ota Shimune, one of the six members of the shogunate, who came to explain the mistake to Tokugawa Iemitsu.

Wu Sangui couldn't help but ask them: "What does it mean to be wrong?"

An old Japanese monk explained: "It means to help behead someone who commits seppuku."

Wu Sangui was speechless after hearing this: "It's okay for Japanese people to commit suicide without wiping their necks and hanging themselves. If you insist on digging out your stomach with a knife, piercing your heart is faster than digging out your stomach! The stomach is full of intestines. Even if you cut it open, you won't be able to die for a while. Could it be that it's just to hurt yourself to death?"

The old Japanese monk felt that he could not explain the Japanese culture of seppuku to Wu Sangui for a while, so he could only smile awkwardly and said nothing.

Wu Sangui shook his head and smiled bitterly: "But you said he is not afraid of pain? He has to ask another person to behead him. Isn't it good to just behead him? He has to cut open his stomach before beheading. Isn't that okay? Are you looking for punishment? Do you know that your sins are serious and you want to add some punishment to yourself?

Don’t you Japanese people like to leave your own dead body? The dignified shogun even asked his subordinates to behead him. There are so many ways to commit suicide, why don’t you choose a decent one? "

The old Japanese monk did not expect that the Ming Dynasty general could complain so much, but when it comes to seppuku, it seems that it is indeed difficult for foreigners to understand, and it will make people feel full of criticism, so the old Japanese monk can only continue to be speechless.

After that, Wu Sangui asked an old Japanese monk to help confirm the body of Tokugawa Iemitsu. Because this old Japanese monk was an eminent monk in a nearby temple and had seen Tokugawa Iemitsu more than once, he got the confirmation from the old Japanese monk. , basically there will be no problem.

Wu Sangui then ordered the release of the Japanese rebels who came to sacrifice their bodies, and said that if they were willing to cooperate with the Ming army, they could bring other rebels. The Ming army was willing to help them eliminate the remaining forces of the Tokugawa shogunate. Help them re-establish the Japanese government.

These Japanese people were naturally very happy when they heard this. The reason why they dedicated Tokugawa Iemitsu's body to the Ming army was because they believed that the Ming army was just and supported the Ming army.

Therefore, these Japanese people also believed that the purpose of the Ming army's invasion of Japan was to punish the Tokugawa shogunate for offending the Ming Dynasty, and to help the Japanese overthrow the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and re-establish a new regime.

In the minds of most Japanese people, what they really support is the "Emperor", a descendant of their Japanese Amaterasu. They are dissatisfied with the shogunate's act of neglecting the emperor, so now taking this opportunity, what they hope most is Able to restore the original state of the emperor's rule.

However, the power of the Japanese emperor is not something that only happened in the past hundred years. Not to mention that since the Kamakura shogunate, the shogunate has been in power. Even going forward, it was also Kanbai who was in power. The period when the emperor was really in power was really rare. There are very few, and most of the time the emperor is just a "mascot."

Therefore, the idea of ​​restoring the supremacy of the emperor is nothing but the fantasy of the people of the Japanese country.

As for the dignitaries and samurai ronin who really controlled the resistance, they were just taking advantage of the innocent thoughts of the people and their support for the emperor to achieve the purpose of manipulating them and making the Japanese people work for them. , and the final result was that they stepped on the corpses of countless Japanese people and stepped onto the high platform of power.

And when that time comes, the one who gets the supreme power will definitely not be the emperor, but a new shogunate, or Guan Bai.

Although Wu Sangui is very young, he can still see such a simple thing, so he doesn't mind using these Japanese fools to make a deal with the forces behind them. After all, he only has [-] Ming troops under his command. Although in terms of combat effectiveness , Wu Sangui was confident of defeating any Japanese army.

But if you want to conquer the entire Japanese country, 5 people are obviously not enough. Now I have only penetrated a few Lingzhi countries along the east coast of the Japanese country. There are still dozens of Lingzhi countries to the west. Really To defeat them all, the Ming army's own consumption will be very huge.

The political system of the Japanese country is very special, and it is very different from that of the Ming Dynasty. It is not that I captured Edo, the home of the Japanese Tokugawa shogunate, but I got the body of the leader of the Japanese Tokugawa shogunate, the general who conquered barbarians, Tokugawa Iemitsu. After that, the entire Japanese country can be ordered to surrender and surrender to the Ming Dynasty.

On the contrary, it is because the collapse of the Tokugawa Shogunate will make hundreds of kingdoms in Japan independent, and the situation will become more and more complicated.

Moreover, although the Japanese shogunate was in power, its capital was in Kyoto. It was like having two capitals. He only captured the Edo Castle of the Tokugawa shogunate, which did not have the effect of "beheading". Try your luck in Kyoto.

However, based on Wu Sangui’s current understanding of the Japanese state, it is estimated that even if he really went to Kyoto of the Japanese state and captured the Japanese emperor alive, it is estimated that the hundreds of imperial orders in the Japanese state would not surrender to the Ming army just because the emperor was captured. , expressed their surrender to the Ming Dynasty, because they did not seem to care about the life and death of the emperor, and the only people who cared about the emperor were the common people of Japan.

(End of this chapter)