Volume 2: Soaring! The Overlord of the Region Chapter 243: Winter Battle in Osaka (Part 4)
"Osunaga Ohno, what should we do? The Tokugawa family is so powerful? They have even fired artillery shells at the castle tower!"
"Your Highness, please listen to my explanation... In short, this level of attack is not a big deal."
"How come you're not seriously injured? This is such a big lump of iron! It must have killed someone !"
"Well……"
This year, Cha Cha is fifty-one years old. The beautiful face she inherited from her mother in her early years has long gone with the passage of time. What is left is just a middle-aged woman who has been widowed for a long time, has become moody, and has been in menopause for a very long time.
In fact, the current head of the Toyotomi family is Hideyoshi's son Hideyori. But in fact, Yodohime has a tight control over Hideyori. Hideyori, who was already 21 years old this year, has never come forward to handle government affairs, and rarely wields a sword or rides a horse. This guy hides in Osaka Castle all day long, living a luxurious life relying on the countless gold and silver treasures left by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. It is his mother, Yodohime, who is doing the things that appear in public.
There are many stories about this Yodo-hime, which I will not elaborate on here. In short, her political level was only slightly better than that of ordinary aunties on the streets in later generations.
At the beginning, in order to boost morale, Yodo-hime personally put on armor and patrolled the city, shouting various slogans to fight to the end, which really boosted morale. However, when the Tokugawa family's shells fell near her and she saw the dead with her own eyes, the will of the actual ruler of Osaka Castle to resist quickly dissipated.
"Oshinaga Ohno, send an envoy to negotiate peace with His Majesty the Kufang."
"Ah? Your Highness, this is absolutely not possible."
"Why not?"
"Your Highness, only by fighting can we have peace! I am different from those crazy people like Sanada Yukimura who want to completely destroy the Tokugawa family in this battle. Now, the Tokugawa family has indeed taken over the world, and it is impossible for my Toyotomi family to destroy the Tokugawa family, so I have never thought of fighting to the end. What I want is to make the Tokugawa family realize that we are not easy to fight through strong resistance. In this way, both sides can negotiate on a more fair position. In this way, the Toyotomi family will have the possibility of survival. However, we have not dealt a heavy blow to the Tokugawa family at this time. If we take the initiative to negotiate at this time, the conditions offered by the other party will definitely be extremely harsh!"
"I don't care~!" The middle-aged lady started to yell at the top of her lungs, "War is too terrible, people will die! Ah Fu was crushed to death by a wooden beam right in front of me! Let's negotiate, don't fight anymore! As long as Hideyori and I are not allowed to leave Osaka, we can talk about anything!"
"Your Highness! This is an order from the wrong people! Please forgive me for not accepting it!"
"You are so brave!" The old lady jumped up with agility rarely seen at her age. "Don't forget where your power comes from! If you don't send someone, I will let your mother go!"
Oono Harunaga's mother, the Minister of Finance, was Yodohime's wet nurse. This is the fundamental reason why Oono Harunaga can have such a status in the Toyotomi family today.
Seeing that Yodohime was using her mother to put pressure on him again, Oono Harunaga sighed helplessly and said, "Okay, then I will send someone out to contact the Tokugawa family ."
Of course, the first person Oono Osamu went to see after he came out was Yan Siqi. After listening to Yodohime's performance, the King of Kaitai couldn't help but sigh: "It's a pity that loyal men like Sanada and Goto were driven by such a woman."
"Yan-san, they are all grateful for Taiko's kindness, or maybe our Toyotomi family has become Japan's only hope to resist the Tokugawa family... In short, they are not loyal to this prince." After saying this, Oono Osaga said: "Yan-san, peace talks seem inevitable. Even if I delay it, someone else will do it. But it can be foreseen that the conditions for the peace talks will definitely be extremely harsh..."
"No, Ohno-kun, I think if you send someone out to negotiate, the other party will definitely only ask for the removal of Osaka Castle's defenses and the filling of the moat. They won't make any other requests."
"...Well, then the shogunate will find an excuse to break the agreement after a while and attack Osaka again?"
"See you, Oono-kun."
"Oh no, it's bad. I was hoping that the other party would make extremely harsh and rude conditions, and His Highness would not be able to accept them, and would have to fight in the end. I didn't expect... Yan Sang, what should I do? If the other party really does this, His Highness will definitely agree. Even if we tell her that Tokugawa will definitely break the contract in the future, she won't believe it. Yan Sang, please help us at this time!"
"How can I help? Although there is a saying in my Ming Dynasty that 'foreign monks are good at chanting sutras', your Right Minister (Hideyori) has been controlled by your prince for more than 20 years and he can't speak anymore. I am an ordinary general of the Ming Dynasty. Can I say a few words to the Right Minister and make him repent and refresh himself?"
"I have never thought of this before. Instead of pinning my hopes on the right minister, it is better to take advantage of the fact that you and I are both teachers of Young Master Kunimatsu to train the next generation. However, given the current situation, I am afraid that the Toyotomi family will not survive for long! Yan Sang, what I mean is, can the Ming Dynasty intervene in advance?"
"My Great Ming will never send the army to fight a war against all of Japan. At present, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is busy with many domestic affairs and cannot devote his main forces to it. We will only send a fleet to control the sea power and save Osaka Castle. You will have to fight the battles on land!"
"I have no objection to this. What I mean is, after the Ming fleet arrives, can some of the sailors go ashore and implement..."
"Why? Is it possible for a foreign army like us to make a military remonstration? I'm afraid that by then the army in Osaka Castle will attack us in unison!"
"What can we do? Yan Sang, the Ming Dynasty doesn't want the Toyotomi family to be completely destroyed, right?"
"Of course I don't want to , but you guys are asking for trouble and there's nothing we can do about it."
Looking at the dejected Oono Osamu, Yan Siqi let him relax a little and then said with a smile: "Well, let's talk about the peace talks. Anyway, no matter what conditions the other party puts forward, you just drag it out."
"drag?"
"Yes, the peace talks are going on. But the enemy will not stop digging trenches. As the trenches gradually extend forward and the enemy's artillery enters the firing range, they think they can win by military means alone. So..."
"Will the shogunate propose excessive conditions that Your Highness cannot accept? Then Your Highness will have no choice but to fight to the end."
“Haha, correct!”
"I have really learned from your teachings. Thank you Yan Sang for your advice."
Seeing Oono Osamu leaving with his worries put aside, Yan Siqi sneered slightly. Then he waved his hand, and a closet in the room was gently pushed open, and a guy with an extremely ordinary appearance and clothes, who would disappear immediately in the crowd, walked out.
"Before the Tokugawa family completely blocks off Osaka Bay, you should leave the city quickly. If Li Guozhu is reliable, our fleet should have reached the vicinity of Shikoku Island by now. Tell him that the situation here is all in your highness's plan, and ask him to be patient and not to show up in the Seto Inland Sea easily. Don't come back after you leave, contact your pirate brothers, and keep an eye on the situation in the Seto Sea and Osaka Castle. Ensure smooth communication between me and Admiral Li."
"Hi, please take care, sir. I'll be leaving right away."
It turned out that this was a Japanese pirate.
After this guy left, Yan Siqi clapped his hands again, and two beautiful and fit young women dressed in maids' clothes appeared.
"Spread the news that Ohno Harunaga just said, that Yodohime wants to negotiate, especially let Sanada, Goto and others know!"
"Hi~!"
