Chapter 1642: Marriage Alliance

After the two ministers, Left and Right, had privately discussed the matter, reached a decision, and unified their stance, they finally walked together into the thatched hut where the two Majesties were temporarily staying.

"We pay our respects to Your Majesty!" The moment they entered, heedless of the dust covering the floor, the two young men simultaneously knelt upon the ground.

"Rise, my beloved ministers." The Cloistered Emperor Masahito, seated upon a few stones, waved his hand. "These are extraordinary times. As I have said many times, we need not cling so rigidly to ceremony and custom."

Although the surroundings were utterly crude, he still strove to maintain his usual dignity, appearing very composed, his hands ceaselessly fingering his prayer beads.

However, due to the constant wandering and displacement of these past days, along with the fear and anxiety, his clothes were now thoroughly disheveled, his expression deeply weary, looking quite exhausted, with little of an emperor's majesty to be seen.

Yet, compared to the physical exhaustion, the torment in his heart was far harder to bear. He knew exactly how many risks he was shouldering, and so his fear could not be dispelled.

Driven by the immense pressure on both body and mind, he had not slept a single good night during this period. His heart was filled with dread and unease, terrified that he would be captured by the shogunate's men, and even more terrified that if Great Han truly did not invade, he would become a laughingstock for all eternity.

At the peak of his exhaustion and suffering, he had once thought that if he were given the choice again, he truly would not have fled.

Nevertheless, to maintain the morale of his subordinate ministers, he still preserved a surface calm and dignity, which indeed made his ministers look at him with newfound respect.

Ichijō Kaneyoshi and Nijō Yasumichi obeyed the command and slowly rose to their feet.

"We have come today to report joyous news to Your Majesty." Although Ichijō Kaneyoshi strove to suppress his emotions, delight was still written all over his face. "It is the most tremendous news, Your Majesty! Great Han has indeed invaded, and successfully landed in Kyushu, dealing a heavy blow to the shogunate. Although intelligence is still very chaotic, it is believed that their complete conquest of Kyushu Island is only a matter of time..."

Upon hearing these words from the Left Minister, his own younger brother, the previously seemingly calm Cloistered Emperor Masahito instantly widened his eyes.

In that moment of deathly silence, the string of sandalwood prayer beads suddenly snapped, and the beads fell one by one to the ground, yet the Cloistered Emperor remained utterly oblivious.

Then, with an almost incredulous expression, the Cloistered Emperor loudly demanded, "Is this true?!"

His voice was so loud it nearly made the thatched roof tremble. No one could fully describe just how much excitement and relief it contained.

"Absolutely true, Your Majesty..." Ichijō Kaneyoshi's voice trembled as well. "The shogunate is now greatly shaken and terrified. Everywhere they are concentrating their forces to prepare the defense of Kyoto, and even the men searching for us outside have stopped... Your Majesty, we have finally waited until this day."

"This is truly a blessing from Heaven!" The Cloistered Emperor let out a long sigh. "Fortunate indeed that we have the protection of our imperial ancestors..."

"This is indeed a great fortune for us, a great fortune for the nation," Nijō Yasumichi spoke up. "However, Your Majesty, this is not yet the time for rejoicing."

"Yes, it is still too early for rejoicing; the road ahead is still long." The Cloistered Emperor immediately regained his composure. "So, my beloved ministers, what do you think our next step should be?"

"Without question, we should immediately travel south, and find a way to reach the southern provinces." Ichijō Kaneyoshi answered at once. "Since Great Han has now landed in Kyushu, the shogunate's power in the south must have been greatly weakened. There are many daimyo there who harbor discontent against the shogunate and will surely seek to seize this opportunity to rise up. If we go there, we will be essentially safe, and then Your Majesty can issue an imperial decree and edict, calling upon all under Heaven to rise up and attack the shogunate."

"Good... good... It seems my beloved minister thinks just as We do..." The Cloistered Emperor nodded repeatedly; clearly this suggestion suited him perfectly. "Then we might as well set out tomorrow. The sooner we rendezvous with Great Han's army, the sooner all our worries will be over..."

His eyes were now filled with light, as if he were already envisioning the scene of summoning the entire realm.

"If Your Majesty's health permits, setting out tomorrow would be best." Ichijō Kaneyoshi inclined his body slightly. "However, just now I discussed with the Lord of the Right Office, and we feel that after reaching the southern provinces, it would be better to first bide our time, issue the imperial decree, and rally those daimyo loyal to the court to rise against the shogunate. Naturally, we must communicate with Great Han, but there is no need to rush into throwing ourselves into their camp..."

"What do you mean?" The Cloistered Emperor looked at the two ministers with some confusion.

Thereupon, Ichijō Kaneyoshi clearly explained to the Cloistered Emperor the matters he and Nijō Yasumichi had discussed, especially the point about needing to elevate the court's standing for the sake of its status.

"Do my two beloved ministers seem to harbor some suspicion and misgivings toward Great Han?" After hearing them out, the Cloistered Emperor's confusion lessened considerably, but he still pressed further. "We have already reached this point; it would be improper to stir up conflict with Great Han now, would it not? It would be best to show them our sincerity."

Having spent a long time with the Cloistered Emperor, Ichijō Kaneyoshi understood him very well. He knew that the Cloistered Emperor's words were not a rebuttal of the joint proposal he and the Lord of the Right Office had made, but rather an attempt to use this opportunity to probe exactly what agreement they had reached with Great Han.

Ever since the Great Han envoys arrived in Kyoto, because he resided within the Imperial Palace, the Cloistered Emperor had never had the chance to meet them and could only authorize the Left and Right Ministers to handle the matter with full authority.

Although, judging by subsequent developments, the two ministers had handled things reasonably well, and the court now had hope of restoring its former power, as the sovereign, the Cloistered Emperor still harbored some suspicions in his heart and wished to know exactly what agreement the two ministers had reached with Great Han.

And because they had been constantly on the run during this period, he had only made a few veiled inquiries, while the Left and Right Ministers, with tacit understanding, had avoided the topic.

Seeing the Cloistered Emperor's expression, filled with hidden expectation, Ichijō Kaneyoshi and Nijō Yasumichi exchanged a glance.

At this stage, there would be no harm in telling him. Ichijō Kaneyoshi made his decision.

"Your Majesty, Great Han, in order to restore our nation's order and return real power to the imperial court, has undertaken the act of sending troops to assist us. Their sincere goodwill is naturally something we are deeply grateful for. The Great Han envoys have also assured us several times that they intend to restore real power to the court. We do not harbor suspicion toward them." Ichijō Kaneyoshi lowered his voice. "However, Great Han is, after all, a foreign nation, and they regard themselves as the Celestial Empire. After we made our request to borrow troops to resolve our predicament, they still had some considerations of their own and did not act entirely according to our pace. Therefore, under these circumstances, maintaining the court's standing is something we must do."

The Cloistered Emperor did not respond, still staring at him, as if interrogating them.

"During our meeting in Kyoto, we already negotiated with the Great Han envoys. If the shogunate can be defeated and the court's authority restored, Great Han will place the Kinai region under the court's direct rule, and even areas beyond it." Ichijō Kaneyoshi gathered his courage and continued. "However, from then on, our nation will become a tributary state of Great Han. To reflect the relationship between the Celestial Empire and a tributary state, the title of Tennō shall be... shall be abolished."

"Abolished...!?" The Cloistered Emperor paled in shock. "You... why did you not tell Us this before!"

Previously, to firm up the Cloistered Emperor's resolve, Ichijō Kaneyoshi and Nijō Yasumichi had privately discussed and decided to conceal this condition when reporting to the Cloistered Emperor, lest a moment of fury from him ruin the grand plan.

Now that they had already escaped, and there was no chance for regret, Ichijō Kaneyoshi was no longer afraid to speak of it.

"The Great Han envoy stated this condition very seriously and said it was unalterable... Therefore, I had no choice but to agree to such a condition. Because I previously feared Your Majesty might waver, I did not report it to Your Majesty in advance. I beg forgiveness!" Ichijō Kaneyoshi and Nijō Yasumichi knelt down simultaneously. "This matter is entirely my own fault. Once everything is settled, I shall naturally take the blame, resign from my post, and then enter the priesthood to apologize to the realm."

"You... you two..." The Cloistered Emperor still stared at them wide-eyed, his hands even trembling slightly.

At first, he was angered by the condition itself, but now he was no longer angry about that point. Instead, he was furious that the Left and Right Ministers had decided to agree to this condition on their own without consulting him, and furthermore, had not disclosed it to him even afterward.

What difference is there between this and those treacherous ministers and rebels of the Tokugawa house! He seethed with resentment in his heart.

The thousand-year history of the Emperor being reduced to a figurehead had long since eradicated any reverence the people held for the Emperor or Cloistered Emperor. Not only was this true of the warrior houses, but likely of the court nobility as well. If he wished to restore the authority his ancestors had possessed many years ago, the road ahead was truly still far too long.

However, in the future, as long as they emulated Great Han's system, he would ultimately be the one to rule over all under Heaven, and there would eventually come a time to slowly restore his authority. For now, he still had to win over these two men as much as possible; after all, he had very few helpers at his side right now.

With these calculations in mind, he slowly suppressed the anger in his heart and returned to his habitual, unruffled calm. "Rise. Now that we have all fled here, what meaning is there in begging forgiveness? We merely did not expect that you would make such a decision without revealing even the slightest hint to Us..."

"My crime is unpardonable. This was a decision I made alone, and the blame shall be borne by me alone. I beg Your Majesty not to hold resentment against the Lord of the Right Office." Ichijō Kaneyoshi still did not rise. "The reason I did not tell Your Majesty was also to keep Your Majesty's hands clean in this matter. When the time comes, I shall depart bearing the blame, and Your Majesty, together with the Lord of the Right Office, can endure hardship to await the day when the realm and the court's authority are restored..."

Then, he once again recounted to the Cloistered Emperor the theory he had previously discussed with Nijō Yasumichi — that every Central Plains dynasty, upon reaching its middle period, would begin to decline and slacken, eventually losing its deterrent power and influence over its periphery — earnestly beseeching the Cloistered Emperor to endure hardship, for the imperial title would eventually have its day of restoration.

Under Ichijō Kaneyoshi's earnest persuasion, the Cloistered Emperor gradually calmed down. Ultimately, since he was capable of doing something like requesting troops from Great Han to suppress the shogunate, he was not a man who could not let go. Although discarding the imperial title for Great Han was painful, as long as he could restore his authority and possess a territory under his direct rule, it was not, in the end, an overly unacceptable outcome.

Such humiliation was merely an illusory title, something that perhaps a few generations could cast off; territory was something tangible. Besides, there was still Ichijō Kaneyoshi to bear the curses and blame.

"This matter... We have taken note. You have indeed taken pains, and We cannot bear to rebuke you. However, in the future, never again conceal matters of this sort from Us, or the bond between sovereign and minister will be damaged." He first issued a mild threat, then smiled bitterly. "This title of 'We' can probably no longer be used, can it."

The two ministers merely lowered their heads; neither answered. They both knew that the Cloistered Emperor had, in fact, as they had hoped, agreed to this demand from Great Han. Even if somewhat reluctant, he was still able to judge the situation and adapt.

"Enough, these matters of titles can be discussed later. Right now, we have no leisure to worry about them." The Cloistered Emperor steered the topic away to spare the three of them, sovereign and ministers, further embarrassment. "The suggestion not to throw ourselves directly under Great Han's banner for now is also reasonable. We shall do as you say. We will continue south, then call upon the daimyo of the realm to raise troops to overthrow the shogunate, striving to win over those daimyo whose hearts lean toward the court. When that time comes, we will continue our cooperation with Great Han."

"Your Majesty is supremely wise!" Both ministers secretly breathed a sigh of relief and only then stood up.

"Great Han has invaded, and the plan is proceeding fairly smoothly, but this is not yet the time for us to celebrate... After all, there are still far too many things to do." The Cloistered Emperor let out a long sigh. "You must continue to share the nation's burdens. We still need you to continue assisting the court. Remember this!"

Then, before the two could respond, he turned his head to the side. "Okiko, come here!"

Empress Okiko, who had been staying in a corner the entire time, quietly walked over. Perhaps due to the life of constant displacement, or perhaps because the psychological blow was too great, her skin was slightly duller than before, but it appeared even paler, almost like a puppet doll.

However, compared to before, her hair was now let down behind her back, and her clothes had been changed into a child's casual attire, making her look more like a child than a stern and rigid Empress. Only her gaze was very vacant, as if she had lost her soul.

Ever since being taken away, she had been in this dazed state, as if her soul had already left her body. Although she did not cry or make a fuss, she remained completely silent, made no response to their commands, and merely followed behind numbly, as if utterly lost.

"Okiko, help your father pick up the prayer beads. We will be leaving at dawn tomorrow." The Cloistered Emperor looked kindly at his daughter. "You have suffered much these days. Things will get better soon."

Emperor Okiko did not answer her father. She only lay silently on the floor, picking up the scattered prayer beads one by one for him.

Ichijō Kaneyoshi sighed and knelt down as well, reaching out to gather the beads beside him before handing them to Okiko. But Nijō Yasumichi did not move at all, as if he had not noticed the Emperor was prostrating right in front of him.

Okiko was the blood descendant of the Cloistered Emperor and Tokugawa Kazuko. Now that the Tokugawa family and the imperial court had broken completely, her position had become unbearably agonizing. Even though she was not yet ten years old, she could still feel that bitterness and peril, and was all the more at a loss.

Out of sympathy for her predicament, Ichijō Kaneyoshi could still treat her with a surface level of courtesy. But Nijō Yasumichi had no such inclination. Ever since they fled Kyoto, his attitude toward Okiko had been consistently terrible, devoid of even the pretense of propriety and respect.

He had long since made up his mind: after the war, he would set things right and pull this girl who bore Tokugawa blood down from the imperial throne, allowing His Majesty the Cloistered Emperor to once again reign over Japan. That being the case, there was absolutely no need to curry favor with her.

Right now, she was instead a burden. They had only brought her along to prevent the shogunate from getting her into their hands, so as to avoid splitting the court. Now that she was no longer in Tokugawa hands, whether she lived or died was actually not very important.

During their earlier hardships and displacement, he had secretly wished for this already spiritless child to die. But things did not go as he wished. Although life lately had been vastly different from before, this child's vitality was remarkably tenacious — she had not even fallen ill, which rather disappointed him.

"All of you, remember this: no matter what other considerations you may have in other matters, Okiko's life must absolutely not be endangered." The Cloistered Emperor suddenly raised his head and looked at Nijō Yasumichi. "Once she abdicates, nothing will trouble her anymore."

Nijō Yasumichi was taken aback. The Cloistered Emperor was practically telling him outright that he would not permit any further harm to come to Okiko after setting things right.

But on second thought, he was not particularly worried.

A female sovereign ruling the court was inherently illegitimate, and Emperor Okiko was of Tokugawa blood. Even if someone with ulterior motives later wanted to use Emperor Okiko to stir up trouble, they would likely be unable to accomplish anything.

"Your servant obeys." He cast a slightly disgusted glance at Okiko and bowed to accept the order.

"What do you think — would it be feasible to marry Okiko to a prince of the Great Han?" the Cloistered Emperor suddenly asked. "I have heard that the sons of the Great Han Son of Heaven are all very young."

This was also a thought that had suddenly occurred to him. If Okiko could truly be married to some Great Han prince, she could then distance herself from the whirlpool of the Japanese court, and preserving her life would not be a problem. Moreover, it would add another layer of marriage ties between the court and the Great Han, further safeguarding the court's authority and standing.

"This..." Ichijō Kaneyoshi was somewhat surprised. He thought for a moment before answering. "I have no objection. I only fear the Great Han would not agree..."

In his view, if a marriage alliance with the Great Han could truly be arranged, it would be a good thing for the court, and would also spare Okiko the awkwardness of her status.

However, the Great Han might not necessarily agree to this proposal.

"This is just an idea. When the time comes, find a way to communicate with the Great Han about it. If it succeeds, all the better; if not, we lose nothing." The Cloistered Emperor let out a long sigh, then stroked his daughter's head. "The affairs of the world are hard to predict. Who can see everything clearly?"