Volume 2: Soaring! The Overlord of the Region Chapter 280: The Talent of Pojunxing
"Hiss~~Heh~~hiss~~Is Takechiyo here?"
"Hi, father, your son is here."
"Oh. Your Excellency, General of the Imperial Guards, I think I am really going to see Vairocana Buddha this time. Before I leave, please allow me to say a few more words."
"Hi, please show me."
The Summer Campaign of Osaka ended in May 1615. The Tokugawa family burned down Osaka Castle, and Hideyori and Yodohime died in the flames.
Afterwards, they found out that Toyotomi Kunimatsu had been taken away by Yan Siqi. Tokugawa Ieyasu smiled and clasped his hands together in front of everyone, saying thank God for not extinct Toyotomi clan. But he fell ill when he returned to the camp.
While he was ill, Tokugawa Ieyasu asked Tokugawa Yoshinao to go to Edo Castle to take charge of national affairs, while he lived in Sunpu Castle.
This city was once the residence of Imagawa Yoshimoto. Ieyasu spent his youth and adolescence here as a hostage. This period of time is the most worth cherishing for everyone, even if you were a hostage living under someone else's roof and your life was in danger. Therefore, Ieyasu chose to spend the last journey of his life here.
"General of the Imperial Guards, after I leave, no one will be able to suppress you. From what I have observed about your ambitions, I am afraid that you will soon join forces with the Siamese man to launch an attack on the Ming Kingdom, right?"
"… As expected, nothing can be hidden from father. Why didn't father stop me?"
"Many places in the world had strange phenomena on the same day sixteen years ago. Although I don't know what it is, there is no doubt that where there are strange phenomena, there is hope. Now it seems that the hopes of these places cannot coexist. Otherwise, why did the Ming Dynasty suddenly change its temper and keep suppressing us Japan? So , it's always good to have more friends. Why should I stop you?"
"...Father, you are a true hero."
"Hiss~ Heh~ cough cough... It doesn't matter whether I'm a hero or not. Although I tried my best to endure it, I still destroyed the Toyotomi family. I'm afraid that the history books will evaluate me worse than Cao Cao, saying that I'm a shameless person like Sima Yi, right?"
"Father, Sima Yi has a bad reputation because the Western Jin Dynasty fell too quickly and was too cowardly. As long as my Tokugawa shogunate can last for a long time, your reputation after death will definitely not be bad!"
"This is what I want to tell you, Takechiyo. If we Japan live behind closed doors, no one will be able to shake the position of our Tokugawa family in the next two or three hundred years. But if we take the initiative to provoke the Ming Dynasty, I am afraid that within ten years, the Tokugawa family will be reduced to dust."
"Father, what if the Ming Dynasty attacks us? They have Toyotomi Kunimatsu in their hands!"
"Hey, Japan has never been truly unified since the Kamakura period. However, when Japan encounters foreign invasion, the inherent unification power of this country and this nation will quickly erupt. Three hundred years ago, the Mongols were invincible in Europe and Asia, but when they came to Japan, didn't they also return home in defeat?"
Although this was a last burst of energy, after speaking for a long time, Tokugawa Ieyasu could no longer hold on. He lay on the tatami and said after a long while: "After I leave, you can continue to maintain the alliance with the King of Siam. However, we can defend together, but as long as the Ming Dynasty does not attack us, we must not take the initiative to provoke the Ming Dynasty. Remember, when we Japanese go out to fight, we can only use 70% to 80% of our abilities. If others land and attack us, we can burst out several times the power. If we go out, no matter we win or lose, the rule of our shogunate will be damaged. If others attack us, the whole of Japan will rely on the shogunate to lead everyone to resist foreign humiliation, and you can take the opportunity to regain power and enhance the authority of the shogunate . Therefore, after I leave, you must send an envoy to the Ming Dynasty as soon as possible to renegotiate the peace treaty. Do you understand?"
"...Hi, I understand, father. Please rest assured."
"Hey, that nonchalant expression of yours shows that you didn't listen at all..."
On April 25, 1616, while the Ming Dynasty's crown prince was preparing for the coming super-large locust plague that would sweep across northern China, Tokugawa Ieyasu, a great man of Japan and the founder of the Edo Shogunate, passed away. This was more than a month earlier than his death date in the original historical plane.
Tokugawa Ieyasu was famous for his frugality during his lifetime. Although he had many schemes and intrigues, he hated red tape the most. Therefore, his funeral was carried out quickly. From the beginning of his death, all affairs were completed by the beginning of June of that year. Then Tokugawa Yoshinao came to Hakone from Sunpu and officially took office as the second shogun of the Edo shogunate.
Under the gaze of more than 200 nobles, daimyo, and powerful families, and thousands of hatamoto who came to watch the ceremony, when Tokugawa Yoshinao sat down in the main hall of Hakone Shrine, three phantoms suddenly appeared in the sky again.
"Susanoo?!"
"No, when the Kufang-dono was born, there was only Susanoo, but now there are three figures. Ah, looking at their attire, they should be Amaterasu, Susanoo, and Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto!"
"Oh my god, His Highness is sitting there, and the three gods are standing behind him. Is His Highness also a true god?"
"I, Tokugawa Yoshinao, was born by divine command to guide the path of Japan. You all must be loyal and obey the shogunate forever."
"Hey! Follow the oracle!"
"Ogosho (Ieyasu) ended the chaos of the Warring States Period and brought peace to Japan. However, Japan has limited land and an unlimited number of samurai. If they are trapped in the country, within a hundred years, the samurai will inevitably become poor and die. From today on, we will open up the country, train our troops, and prepare for war. When the time is right, we will expand our territory to the four seas and spread our military power to all directions."
"...Hi, I will obey...the oracle..."
This time, the answers were obviously inconsistent: for the several thousand bannermen who had no land of their own and lived purely on salaries, they were happy to change the national policy of isolation to expansion and advancement. However, for the more than 200 daimyo and powerful families who had managed to keep their family names and lands in the chaotic Warring States period, they really did not have much passion for expanding territory.
Tokugawa Yoshinao had anticipated such a situation. But he didn't care: relying on the short period of time when the miracle reappeared, he could deify his behavior of changing the national policy as soon as he came to power, and that was enough.
"The host has been detected reaching the summit in its country, and the system has been activated."
"Here I am. I've been waiting for you for a long time, system."
"Tokugawa Yoshinao was a Japanese military cartoonist before he traveled through time. The help this system gives you is... your natal star is Yaoguang, the seventh star of the Big Dipper. In the Chinese star god system, it is Pojun Star God, who is responsible for bravery and diligence. Therefore, your talent bonus is that when you lead the army in person, the close combat lethality of your soldiers increases by 10%, and when they switch to long-range arms, their hit rates are all increased by 10%. If you are not on the battlefield in person, then during the battle, the above two bonuses of your soldiers will gradually weaken as the distance from you increases, until they are gone."
"Yoshi! This talent is really great! At present, it seems that the era of sailing warships will continue for quite some time. In this era of low hit rate, even if it is only increased by half, it will be enough for my Great Japanese naval fleet to have a great advantage when facing the Chinese fleet! Hahahaha, this way, my great cause of conquering Korea will be more secure!"
