Although the Sendai clan sided with the Tokugawa shogunate in the war and was still the main force, it actually never gained the full trust of Tokugawa Iemitsu.
The reason is also very simple.
The Date family is an outsider.
The reason why the Sendai clan did not include the gaibō daimyo was purely due to geographical reasons.
The rest of the foreign daimyo were in western Japan and could easily unite to fight against the Tokugawa shogunate.
Only the Sendai clan was located in the northeast of Japan, thousands of miles away from other foreign daimyo, and there was no possibility of mutual support and reliance.
In fact, starting from the time of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the shogunate has always adopted a vigilant and tolerant policy towards the Sendai Domain, and has conducted many marriage alliances.
The Date family, like the Tokugawa family, both set world hegemony as their goal, so naturally they were not so convinced by the Tokugawa family.
During the Sekigahara War, Date Masamune was on both ends of the spectrum and supported He Tadachika's rebellion.
After the war, Tokugawa Ieyasu did not pursue the matter, and the Date family's request to be promoted to a million-koku daimyo was not fulfilled.
Now that Date Masamune has surrendered to the empire, the northeastern part of Edo is no longer stable. Date Hidemune is still in the army and has great strength. How can the shogunate be reassured?
"It's a matter of life and death, and you can't be merciful as a woman. Only by uniting can we defeat the powerful empire."
At the critical moment, Lin Luoshan also came to discuss.
Japanese monks are never pure monks. They are more involved in political affairs, and they are more vicious than ordinary people.
Lin Luoshan encouraged Tokugawa Iemitsu to take action first to eliminate future troubles.
Tokugawa Iemitsu followed the advice.
On that day, the samurai of the shogunate came out in force, rushed into the Date family's mansion in Edo Shiodome, and massacred everyone in the mansion.
This was done to cover the subsequent actions and avoid being overheard by Date Hidezono.
However, after a lot of mistakes were made, things still went wrong.
Although everyone in the Date family's mansion was killed, there were still fish that slipped through the net.
That was Date Tsunamune, the son of Date Tadamune.
Unlike the extraordinary abilities of Date Masamune and Date Tadamune, Date Tsunamune was a pure playboy.
During my stay in Edo, I loved to look for flowers and willows, and spent most of my time hiding in the gimachi.
He happened to be on his way back when his family was massacred. He was very angry when he saw that the road was blocked and there were countless people watching the fun.
When he saw his own house was on fire and screaming, he was so frightened that he woke up.
He didn't dare to alarm anyone, so he disguised himself as a civilian and ran out of Edo, rushing into Date Hidemune's army.
Date Hidemune also just received a letter from Date Masamune, knowing that his father had surrendered to the empire.
He was also very helpless about this situation.
Although from the bottom of his heart, he did not want to follow his father, but things in the world do not depend on human will.
After Date Masamune surrendered, his situation was bound to be embarrassing.
The Tokugawa shogunate would certainly never trust him again.
He was thinking of a way to express his feelings to Tokugawa Iemitsu.
Well now, the vicious Tokugawa Iemitsu helped him make a choice.
"General, General Sakai, please come over and discuss matters."
The guard came in to deliver the message, and the uncle and nephew looked at each other.
At this time, any fool would understand that Sakai Tadakatsu had ulterior motives.
Date Xiuzong looked fierce and made a decision quickly.
"Reply to the person who came and tell me I'll be there right away."
Date Tsunamune was really frightened.
"Uncle can't go. Sakai Tadakatsu must have laid an ambush."
Looking at this useless nephew, Date Xiuzong was furious.
"Idiot, this is a trick to confuse the enemy."
Just when Date Tsunamune felt a little relieved, Date Hidemune quickly mobilized his troops and suddenly attacked Sakai Tadakatsu.
His guess was correct.
Sakai Tadakatsu has received orders from Tokugawa Iemitsu to get rid of Date Hidemune.
Sakai Tadakatsu laid a dragnet around his handsome tent, waiting for Date Hidemune to fall into the trap.
It's a pity that his arrangement was only for Date Hidemune personally, and it was completely ineffective in the face of a sudden army attack.
Sakai Tadakatsu's troops were immediately overwhelmed and defeated.
Even he himself couldn't stand and could only run away under the protection of the guards.
In this battle, Date Hidemune used deliberate calculations to eliminate more than 8,000 people under Sakai Tadakatsu's command, greatly weakening the strength of the shogunate's army.
If Doi Toshikatsu hadn't responded quickly, Sakai Tadakatsu might have wiped out his entire army.
Of course Date Hidemune was not fooling around.
When he knew he had no choice, he decided to fight this battle.
Not for anything else, just to submit a petition.
From now on, the Date family will live under the wings of the empire.
How can you stand out if you suddenly take refuge and have no merit?
Fighting this battle and destroying so many shogunate troops helped the empire ease the difficulty of advancing.
It’s not considered credit, it’s considered hard work, right?
No matter what, the Date family can save more benefits.
Smart people are smart people and can find ways to benefit themselves at any time.
After a great victory, while Doi Toshi's footing was not yet stable, Date Hidesuneshi retreated and at the same time sent his cronies to send a message to the National Defense Forces.
The news spread back to Edo, and Tokugawa Iemitsu vomited blood again.
Ever since the empire set foot in Japan, everything has gone wrong for the shogunate, and the situation has become increasingly dangerous.
The worst part is that the matter has not been hidden, it has spread everywhere. Everyone in Edo Castle was panicked because of this.
"The Tokugawa family is no longer able to control the situation. If this continues, Japan will be destroyed. As the emperor, I must take responsibility."
In the remote palace, a person became active.
That is Emperor Meisho.
After Emperor Gomizuo abdicated in anger, Emperor Meisho became the legitimate emperor.
In the past, she had conflicts with the Tokugawa shogunate. What she wanted to do most was to eliminate the shogunate and restore the power and status of the royal family.
In the early days of the Japanese Civil War, she still thought of relying on the power of the foreign daimyo to defeat the Tokugawa shogunate.
Unexpectedly, by some mistake, the daimyō took away Emperor Gomizuo and made him his orthodoxy, suddenly becoming her enemy.
As a political figure, Emperor Meisho had no choice but to unite with the Tokugawa Shogunate.
If the Tokugawa shogunate wins the civil war, the situation will return to the past, and she will still be the emperor in name only.
But now, it's all over.
The empire's dispatch of troops not only ushered in the end of the Tokugawa shogunate, but even Japan was about to be lost.
If Japan is gone, her role as emperor will be meaningless.
Emperor Meisho decided to stand up and negotiate peace with the empire beyond the Tokugawa shogunate.
It doesn't matter no matter how high the price is, as long as Japan can be preserved, she can regain power.
This woman is already a little crazy, and her long-term absence from the center of power has caused her judgment of the situation to be biased.
The worst thing was that the people she sent to negotiate peace with the National Defense Forces were captured by the Tokugawa Shogunate before they even left Edo.
Tokugawa Iemitsu, who had a nervous breakdown, learned of the situation and could no longer suppress his anger.
He turned into a beast!
(End of chapter)
