On this day, after Ieyasu, who had almost become the "regent", coldly dismissed the guests, as soon as he returned to the room, Hidetada's wife Ae and her toddler Chiki came.
Because she has been married several times and has given birth to many children, Mrs. Yodo's younger sister A Jiang and Yu look much older than her elder sister.
"You guys are here. Okay, come here and let grandpa hold him." Ieyasu said to the young side room Agui and ordered: "Bring the child over here."
"Yes. Come, Miss Chiki." Agui picked up Chiki and was about to hand it over to Ieyasu when Chiki suddenly seemed to be burned by fire, dancing and crying.
"What's wrong, you don't like Grandpa?"
"Your Highness looks bad today, Miss, I'm afraid..."
"Oh... cough, they just said some annoying things to me. Well, leave it to her mother." Ieyasu took his hand away from Qianji in embarrassment. Compared to the other side rooms, his daughter-in-law Jiang and Yu seemed older, which made Ieyasu feel a little emotional.
"Aqian, what's wrong with you? Aren't you crying to come to grandpa?" Ajiangyu took Qianji and coaxed her: "Aqian, don't cry, don't cry, just smile and ask grandpa to hug you, Be good." Her mother's words were still effective, at least Qianji gradually stopped crying.
This woman is really good at coaxing children... Just as Ieyasu was thinking about it, Jiang Yu came to him with frankincense all over his body. "Okay, Qianji stopped crying and smiled. Come on, please give me a hug."
Sure enough, when Ieyasu extended his hand again, Chiki really stopped crying. Ieyasu smiled bitterly and said: "Oh, good boy, good boy. Ajiang, do you have anything to do with your father today?"
"Father, can my wife take Aqian back to Edo?" Ajiang and Luoluo asked generously.
Ieyasu just said "meet", neither agreeing nor objecting. Why did Ajiang Yu take Qianji to Edo? Ieyasu didn't understand her intention for a moment.
At present, Hidetada must return to Edo, not only as a precaution to prevent the father and son from being taken advantage of in Kinki, but there is also another important matter that Hidetada must do, which is to ensure that the Tokugawa family and the Maritime Trade Alliance - —To be precise, maintain close contact with Jinghua.
Ae and here have both a compatriot sister and the son of her ex-husband. Mrs. Yodo often sends toys and snacks to Chiki in the name of Hideyori. Therefore, even if Hidetada wanted to take her to Edo, it seemed reasonable that she should make an excuse to stay.
"Do you really want to go to Edo?"
"Yes. Without my wife by my side, His Majesty the Lieutenant General will definitely have a lot of inconvenience."
"Hmm." Ieyasu responded. He knew very well that Ajiang and indeed took good care of Xiuzhong, and some women even talked behind his back: "Young lady seems not to want other women to get close to His Highness the Lieutenant General."
"That goes without saying! The lieutenant general doesn't allow a side room, so she can have exclusive favor."
"Yes, I'm afraid that others will take it away and not return it."
Regarding these heated discussions, Ieyasu has mixed emotions. Of course it is understandable that a wife loves her husband deeply, but a woman's jealousy and desire for exclusivity can sometimes put a man in a dilemma. Ieyasu himself is an example - when Ieyasu was young, he suffered deeply from the jealousy of Mrs. Tsukuyama.
"Did you agree, father?" Ajiang and Chiji, who looked at Ieyasu's arms with an uneasy expression, asked: "His Majesty the Lieutenant General said that as long as you agree, he has no objection, so my wife proposed to go Let’s take a look at Edo.”
"But Xiuzhong's return this time is very different from the past."
"Will there be riots?"
"It's not like there were riots. In the past few years, we often said that there were riots in Kanto. It was just to reassure His Highness Taikaku. As for now..." Ieyasu handed Chiki back to Ajie and said at the same time: "If the world knows Taikaku, Your Highness has just gone to Hexi, and the Lieutenant General has even brought his family papers back to the territory. Do you know how big an impact this will have?"
"This is exactly what my daughter-in-law wants to say." Ajiangyu seemed to have been waiting for Ieyasu's words for a long time and said: "If people know that the lieutenant general has returned to the territory with his wife and children... this news can actually calm people's hearts. "
This sounds a bit strange, but Ieyasu knows what she means. In fact, it is the same reason why he sent Hidetada back to Edo: if the Tokugawa father and son were both in Kinki, some people might be bold and do something regardless of the consequences. Things are coming.
If something unexpected happened, it's not like Ieyasu doesn't have other sons, so the Edo side would definitely have to raise troops to "go to Luo". However, some people in Kinki felt that without their father and son, the Tokugawa family would not raise troops even if they did. It's not a big deal, so there is no doubt that the next step will be chaos in the world.
On the contrary, Hidetada took his wife and children back to Edo, and Ieyasu was the only one in Kinki, so people with ulterior motives would be afraid to take too extreme actions. Because as long as Hidetada returns to Edo, what if he really assassinates Ieyasu?
The Tokugawa family is still a whole, a powerful force with an actual height of 2.5 million stone, and assassination is very unpopular. When the time comes for the Tokugawa family to send troops to Luo, it is almost impossible for other famous names to jump in. Come out to oppose or stop it - other famous names are also afraid of encountering this kind of thing.
Ieyasu then smiled and said, "Don't you want to take even a step away from the Lieutenant General?"
"Father……"
"Forget it this time, during Taikaku's funeral..." Ieyasu winked, shook his head slightly, and then continued: "...The Lieutenant General must also come back. It will only take about half a year, so you have to be patient."
Hearing what Ieyasu said, Ajiang lowered his head in dissatisfaction.
It seems that there is something hidden... Ieyasu smiled again: "Can't you let go of the Lieutenant General for a moment?" He made a rare joke.
"Father!" Ajiang Yu suddenly blushed.
Once she became shy, she appeared to be young for her actual age, but she still defended herself by saying, "Tell your father the truth, my wife actually has something hidden."
"I guess so, then please tell me."
Ieyasu has long recognized that Oe is a high-spirited woman like his sister, Mrs. Yodo. However, Mrs. Yodo is deeply loved by Hideyoshi and is Hideyoshi's biological mother. She has always had her own way of doing whatever she wants, while Oe and Yodo have already Having been married several times, I act more cautiously.
"Father, is the Lieutenant General returning to Edo this time to guard against Uesugi from Aizu..."
Ieyasu's expression changed, he quickly raised his hand to stop her, and looked around cautiously. Shintaro Torii, who was standing behind him, immediately walked to the yard to watch the wind with understanding. Apart from them, only Qianji and Agui were left in the room.
Ieyasu then solemnly asked: "Is this what the Lieutenant General told you?"
"No, it was my sister's close confidant, the Food Court Bureau, who said it."
"What did she say to you?"
"She said that Ishida Harubu has sent a secret envoy to Uesugi in Aizu, asking Uesugi to enter the capital quickly - she asked me to be more careful."
"oh?"
"According to the Dining Bureau, once Your Highness Uesugi enters the capital, this mansion may be attacked, so I have been asked to be extremely careful."
"Attack?" Although Ieyasu pretended to be relaxed, he could not hide the anxiety in his eyes.
"Yes. But the attacker is neither Uesugi nor Ishida, but someone else. Moreover, no matter what misfortune happens then, it will not be the fault of His Highness Uesugi, nor the responsibility of His Highness Jibu. The Food Bureau is worried that someone With ulterior motives, I told my daughter-in-law about this matter. Even my sister didn’t know about it, but she was quietly warned by the Food Court Bureau when they sent Qianji some snacks.”
"So you think it's dangerous to stay here and want to go back to Edo?"
"Father..." A Jiangyu was surprisingly anxious, his face changed: "Although my wife is humble, she is also the wife of a lieutenant general. How can she only think of herself when in danger? But if someone really harbors evil intentions and does this If something happens, the Tokugawa family will have to guard against it.
But the daughter-in-law herself is not important, so the daughter-in-law wants to take Aqian with her instead of staying in the mansion. This might attract the attention of criminals, so I concluded that the Tokugawa family was already wary of this, so they gave up the idea. Out of this thought, my wife..."
"Oh." Ieyasu nodded heavily. Regardless of whether the rumors were true or not, he already had some clues to the truth. When Mitsunari was away, he quietly summoned Uesugi Kagekatsu into the capital and made him responsible for the defense of the capital. In this way, if he retreated, he could guard against Ieyasu's evil intentions, and if he advanced, he could send someone to assassinate him.
If Hidetada returned to Edo but still could not stop the other party from doing this, it means that they believed that Hidetada's ability and prestige were limited, and the only important person in the Tokugawa family was Ieyasu himself.
In addition, no matter whether this matter succeeds or fails, Jing Sheng and Sancheng can pretend not to know anything about it, so even if the matter fails, it can be settled...
Ieyasu pretended to be puzzled and thought about it, then pondered: "Is there such a rumor?"
"Father, can my wife come with me?"
A Jiangyu urged again, staring at Ieyasu. She had a determined look on her face, just like a competitive woman, just like Mrs. Yodo. Hidetada must have been impressed by this momentum and found it difficult to refuse, so he had no choice but to agree, and once Ieyasu agreed, he would take her away.
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Ieyasu shook his head slightly and said, "I didn't say your concerns were credible."
"So, you still won't let your wife go with the lieutenant general?"
"No." Ieyasu smiled, "If you just don't want to leave the Lieutenant General and want to take care of him personally, I can agree to it."
"Ah..." A Jiang and Ming Ming were greatly surprised.
"As a wife, it is human nature not to want to leave your husband. As an elder, I have to agree. But if you have other ideas, it would be hard for me to agree."
A Jiangyu was startled, and even his breathing became rapid. Apparently Ieyasu's answer was completely opposite to what she expected. She originally thought that she would definitely be scolded by Ieyasu if she proposed to accompany her only because she was attached to her husband. However, once Ieyasu saw that she had more profound considerations, he would happily agree.
Ieyasu seemed to see Jiang Yu's confusion and said: " Jiang Yu, as a woman, it is okay to occasionally talk to her husband about her own opinions, but she must not force her husband to submit. Whether to adopt a woman's opinion should be decided by It’s up to the man to decide, and as a good wife, just kindly reminding her husband is enough.”
"Yes." Ajiang and Weiwei lowered their eyes.
"If you force your husband to do everything, a man will unknowingly become a useless person who seeks women's opinions on everything. And once this happens, a woman will no longer be a good wife. A woman's strength will weaken a man, you must pay attention. Haha ...If this is the case, you will also be rejected by your husband and have a miserable life."
"Yes, father." Ajiangyu leaned forward and put his hands on the ground: "Has father seen through that nothing will happen to Fushimi and Jingcheng?"
"No, the current situation is very complicated, and some people are indeed very imprudent in their actions, so I can't even tell whether something will happen." Ieyasu shook his head, but immediately continued: "However, even if something happens, it doesn't matter. . No matter what kind of commotion occurs, I will let it calm down. This is what a man should do.
Although women are often keenly aware of men's omissions, they often fail to see the overall situation. You don't have to worry. If there is real turmoil in the world now, it will actually be an opportunity for the Lieutenant General and I to show off our skills. Therefore, a wise person will never act rashly.
When I stand still, I am a loyal and honest Zuofu. But once someone deliberately provokes a disturbance, I will become the most ferocious tiger in the world. No matter who it is, as long as they understand the truth, they will never let me show my teeth. So, just rest assured. "
Ieyasu spoke calmly, smiled, and said: "You are smarter than many men. You want the lieutenant general to return to Edo with his wife and children, so that the world will think that there may be a riot in Kinki. There must be something against me, Tokugawa Ieyasu." conspiracy... However, this kind of thinking is just a trick of a wither insect."
A Jiangyu bit his lip, dejected. She originally wanted the public to recognize her talent and thereby consolidate her position. As Ieyasu said, if someone dares to cause turmoil now, it would be tantamount to giving Ieyasu and his son a chance.
Ajiang Yuya understood this very well, but she never expected that the idea she had thought over so carefully would be ridiculed by Ieyasu as a trick, which she found hard to accept.
"Ah Jiang, although Lieutenant General is gentle by nature, his thinking is by no means superficial, otherwise I would not train him with all my heart. After all, although Xiukang once adopted Taige, he is not unable to return to his family now. You must understand this and take good care of it. Be a good wife.”
(Note: Ieyasu’s eldest son, Nobuyasu, had already committed suicide. Hideyasu was the second son, but he was adopted as a hostage to Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Later, he adopted and inherited the Yuuki family’s hundred thousand stones and changed his name to Yuuki Hideyasu, while Tokugawa Hidetada was Ieyasu's third son. With Ieyasu's current strength and status, even if he regrets letting Hideyasu return to his family, the Yuuki family will indeed not be able to object, but the impact will not be very good.)
"Yes." Although he said yes, A Jiangyu did not immediately step back, "My daughter-in-law completely understands, my daughter-in-law will stay here."
"That's very good. Haha... I have to tell the Lieutenant General when I have time. He must not bring a woman to Edo."
"Father."
"Um?"
"After listening to my father's words, my daughter-in-law feels relieved. Even if the house is attacked, it will be fine. However, my daughter-in-law still has something to ask my father for advice."
"What do you think."
"Daughter-in-law, I heard that my father intends to adopt an adopted son?"
Ieyasu's expression immediately became solemn, and he frowned and asked, "Where did you hear about it?"
Ajiang did not answer, but asked: "If this son... is indeed something that even his father cannot refuse, then what will the Lieutenant General do in the future?"
Ieyasu sighed softly and said: "There are still many uncertain conditions that have not yet been negotiated, and this is one of the important reasons why Hidetada must return to Edo now."
"I wonder what conditions still cannot be negotiated?" Ajiang and Yiyi asked.
"It's the things you're worried about." Ieyasu narrowed his eyes slightly and said: "The power behind that child is as huge as a mountain and as deep as the sea. Not to mention my Tokugawa sect, even if the whole of Japan is put together, it can only It can make him somewhat fearful, but fear is not fear..."
Ajiangyu didn't seem to believe it, and asked: "Can't the whole of Japan let that person... let the forces behind that child be afraid?"
"No." Ieyasu sighed deeply and asked, "You should know something about the general situation of the Wenlu Battle, right?"
"My wife has heard something about it."
"Then you should know that the army sent by Taige to North Korea at that time was more than three times that of the Ming army, and all the generals of each army were famous generals. However, they were defeated by the Ming army."
Ajianghe's face became more solemn, and he frowned and said, "Is it really a retreat?" Obviously, the news she heard was embellished, at least it did not reach the point of "a retreat".
However, Tokugawa Ieyasu said with a wry smile: "To say that we are retreating steadily is to put gold on our own face. The truth is, if it hadn't been for His Highness Gonaka Nagon's counterattack that time, our army would have been defeated thousands of miles away."
Quan Zhongnanyan refers to Kobayakawa Takakage. Ieyasu is saying that if Kobayakawa Takakage hadn't seized the opportunity and tried to encircle and annihilate the Ming army forward where Li Rusong himself was with a huge advantage of about 11 times, although the result failed, at least Li Rusong's direct lineage suffered heavy losses. , refusing to follow up with any more dashing attacks. Otherwise, the Japanese army may really be defeated.
A Jiangyu seemed a little doubtful, at least he didn't express his position immediately.
Ieyasu added: "Also, do you know, the situation of this attack on the imperial court is even worse than the Battle of Wenlu."
"Oh, it is said that Taige has been clamoring for a personal expedition several times. Is this true?" A Jiangyu asked in confusion.
"Of course it's true. The North Korean frontline fought against the North Korean army at the beginning, so it was overwhelming. But as soon as it encountered the Ming army later, the battle became extremely ugly."
Ieyasu sighed again: "Especially after the child's biological father appeared in North Korea, our army was controlled by others almost everywhere. We were passively beaten everywhere, and every counterattack was ineffective. You may not know that even if you are as smart as Kanbei (Kuroda Yomizu), brave as Kato Kiyomasa, all of them failed one after another after they arrived in North Korea."
"But Japan is a kingdom of gods, and it has always been protected by divine winds, isn't it?" Ajiangyu asked.
"It's just that the Mongols are not good at naval warfare. How can you take such a statement seriously? Even now, I dare not say that it is completely proven how powerful the Maritime Trade Alliance's maritime strength is, but one thing is clear to me: with the Kanto A fleet as powerful as this is just the tip of the iceberg for the Sea Trade Alliance."
Ajiang was really moved this time. After all, her husband Xiuzhong had personally seen the strength of the Kanto Fleet. After coming back, he had no idea how many times he had expressed emotion. Every time he mentioned it, his tone was extremely strong. worries. If the strength of the Kanto Fleet is just the tip of the iceberg, then the Sea Trade Alliance is really terrifying.
"Then on land..."
"On land?" Ieyasu said with a wry smile: "The Ming army had at least 1.2 million troops. The number used in Korea was only about 50,000 during the Battle of Wenlu. This time, there were more troops in the Battle of Keichang. It can be regarded as the biological father of the child. There are probably more than 100,000 people brought there now.
The more than 100,000 Ming army defeated the more than 200,000 elite soldiers of our army. In just two or three months, they have been trapped in a corner of Busan. Then think about what they would do if they took the ships of the Sea Trade Alliance. How earth-shattering would it be to come to Japan? "
Ajiangyu said nervously: "My wife heard that most of the elites of the Western Kingdom and at least half of the direct descendants of Taige have invested in North Korea. It seems that there are not many elites in Japan now..."
"Except for my Tokugawa family, there are very few daimyo who have not sent troops to Korea. If the Ming army really comes to Japan, Japan's ability to gather another 100,000 troops will probably be the limit."
"How come there are so few?" Ajiangyu asked in surprise: "Just from Dongguo alone, the three elders Tokugawa, Maeda and Uesugi should be able to come up with this number, right?"
"That's not how you settle the account. After all, each family can't spare any troops and send them all out to fight the Ming army." Ieyasu explained: "Besides, as I said just now, the Ming army must have the upper hand at sea, so this means It means that they can land from any place in Japan at any time and attack any daimyo they want to attack. In this case, who dares to send out all the main members of the family?"
"Then... will the Ming army really come?" A Jiangyu said uneasily: "I heard that... the biological father of the child is the public family. Can the public family decide important affairs of the court?"
"Akito is different from us..." Ieyasu thought for a while and seemed to find it troublesome to explain this question, so he decided to be brief and said: "You can roughly understand it this way. The child's biological father was born in the Wushe family. Now he has not only He became Guan Bai, but he also served as shogun."
A Jiangyu's expression changed drastically, and he muttered: "That is to say, he can decide with one word whether he wants to go to Japan or not."
"That's about it." Of course Tokugawa Ieyasu didn't really think so, but he thought it was okay to say so. He truly believed that if "the child's biological father" persisted, the Ming army would definitely go to Japan - the key was whether he thought it was necessary.
A Jiangyu finally fell silent. If everything is true as the father-in-law said, no matter what "the child's biological father" wants, no one in Japan can object.
After thinking for a while, Ah Jiang Yucai asked in confusion: "Then why didn't he have a strong reaction to Taige's sending troops to Korea before?"
Ieyasu laughed, shook his head and said, "Would His Highness Kōkata (Shogun) be willing to send out troops to fight on his own, but in the end give all the territory he gained to His Majesty the Emperor?"
A Jiangyu was startled for a moment: "How is it possible? Of course not."
"You don't know the national conditions of the Tang people, and you can't understand the Lord's intentions, so it's understandable that you can't understand his actions." Ieyasu smiled kindly and said: "In short, as long as you know, we can do our best for Japan. The best effort is to make him feel that even if Taige goes to the west, Japan will still be united, so that he may think that it is not cost-effective to use force against Japan.
In this way, we still have some room for bargaining, otherwise... we can only fight for the sake of others, and everything will be decided by him. Having said this, I may have gone too far. You can take Aqian down. "After saying that, Ieyasu touched Chiki's head, narrowed his eyes and smiled.
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PS: I accidentally fell asleep while coding last night, and I slept until dawn. When I woke up, I thought that I had updated 2K more in advance, so I just updated this chapter to 6K, so I didn’t owe any debt... It happened to be that Ieyasu was in Hideyoshi He wrote about the reasons why he desperately tried to maintain the unity of Japan after his death. This also allows us to turn our perspective back to the Korean battlefield.
In addition, the reason why I fell asleep last night was actually because I was calculating the data of Japan's feudal state and the strength of the feudal lords, as well as their respective positions and demands in the Battle of Sekigahara. As for the reason, it was because of the post-war partition...oh, the enfeoffment plan.
