Chapter 1656: Insects and Ants Beneath the Great Storm

The colossal storm brought by the Great Han's invasion was, of course, not confined to Kyoto or Edo alone. Even though the Great Han had yet to win a decisive victory or occupy Japan's major cities, this storm had already swept into nearly every corner of Japan, altering the life of every person in its path.

In the desolate, remote interior of Honshu, within the walls of Takasaki Castle in Kōzuke Province, an almost eternal stillness continued to persist.

It was a small castle, but because it had been built so long ago, its earthen walls were already covered in moss. It was clear they had not been repaired for many years, their original color no longer visible. Only a few breaches in the walls revealed everything it had endured during the ceaseless slaughter of the Warring States period.

The castle's geographical position was unimportant, and the fact that it had never been repaired was itself proof that it had been neglected and left to decay for all these years. Strangely, however, newly made white bamboo palisades now surrounded the base of the castle, completely enclosing it. Many soldiers were stationed below, their expressions tense as if facing a formidable enemy, as though preparing for battle here.

Yet, despite their posture of facing a great foe, they did not directly assault this small castle, even though there were not enough people inside to resist them.

All of this was because of the special status of the person residing within.

Inside a humble room in the castle, a young man with a rather tall, slender build and delicate features knelt on a tatami mat, his expression desolate as he stared ahead. At the focal point of his gaze was a small low table, upon which lay a katana. The sword's craftsmanship was extremely exquisite, and in the dim light, it gleamed with a clear, cold light, as if waiting to drink human blood.

He had been here for a long time, his eyes very lost. Clearly, a fierce struggle was raging within him, and he could not bring himself to make a decision. Just then, the dark clouds in the sky grew thicker and thicker, and a rumbling sound began to echo through the air, as if someone were buzzing in his ear, making him even more agitated, and the pent-up anger surged into his heart once more.

Amidst the oppressive air before the downpour, his expression grew more and more indignant, and a sudden, thunderous boom from the sky seemed to urge him toward his final decision.

"Rather than continue to endure such humiliation, I might as well end it myself, and not disgrace my father's name!" He finally made up his mind, shouted out, and then reached out his hand to take the katana.

However, his hand was still trembling, and it was clear that he was still somewhat unwilling to accept his fate.

He grasped the hilt, picked up the katana, and once again stared at the blade. Then, he slowly turned the blade's direction, pointing it toward his own abdomen.

The tip of the blade was already very close to his skin, as if his abdomen could already sense that sharp, piercing sensation. With just a little more force, it could pierce his abdomen and fulfill his wish to commit suicide and demonstrate his resolve. This sword was meticulously forged by a master craftsman; it could probably make a very exquisite cut...

Yet, when the blade was placed above his abdomen, the young man's hand stopped, and for a long time, he did not complete the final step. His expression shifted uncertainly; clearly, he still had attachments to the mortal world and could not bring himself to make the final move.

At that moment, another thunderous boom came from the sky. The young man's eyes suddenly widened, and then his hand trembled, causing the katana to fall to the ground. After landing, the blade emitted a soft, humming ring, as if reproaching him for not seeking death after suffering such humiliating treatment, thus staining the honorable name of a warrior's descendant.

Raindrops pattered down onto the ground, causing the windows to tremble slightly. The young man stared blankly for another moment, then raised his head and looked at the sky outside the window.

Once again, his suicide attempt had failed.

This was, in fact, normal. As the legitimate son of the Shogun, he had been doted on by his parents since childhood and had grown up in comfort and privilege. How could he so easily cast aside his attachments to the human world?

That was right: he was Tokugawa Tadanaga, the second legitimate son of the previous Shogun Tokugawa Hidetada, and the younger brother of the current Shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu.

After the birth of her eldest son, Takechiyo (Iemitsu), his mother, Sūgen-in, had been separated from him because Tokugawa Ieyasu had placed him in the care of a wet nurse (Lady Kasuga). Therefore, after the birth of her younger son, Kunichiyo (Tadanaga), she requested of her husband Hidetada that she be allowed to raise Kunichiyo herself without a wet nurse, and Hidetada agreed to Sūgen-in's request.

Because of this, Kunichiyo grew up under the doting care of his parents, and the Hidetada couple also believed that Kunichiyo, whom they were raising themselves, was in every way better than the taciturn and violent-tempered Takechiyo. Moreover, in his early childhood, Kunichiyo was indeed more talented and appeared more intelligent and clever than Iemitsu.

Consequently, after some time, Tokugawa Hidetada and Sūgen-in began to entertain the idea of deposing Takechiyo and making Kunichiyo the third Shogun. Takechiyo's position thus began to waver, and the initial hatred for his younger brother was born—he was a man who held grudges, and he could harbor this hatred in his heart for a very long time.

It was at this dangerous moment that Takechiyo's wet nurse, Lady Kasuga, sensing that Takechiyo's status as the Shogun's heir might be in jeopardy, took it upon herself to salvage the situation. She traveled to Sunpu Castle, where the already retired Tokugawa Ieyasu, titled the Ōgosho, was living in seclusion, and tearfully recounted the Hidetada couple's plans to Ieyasu, begging him to intervene and protect Takechiyo.

Upon learning of the situation, Tokugawa Ieyasu was furious, for he believed that to change the frequent instances of subordinates overthrowing their superiors and the breakdown of rites and order that characterized the Warring States period, the shogunate itself must first uphold order and ethical principles, and the system of primogeniture was the very foundation of this ethical order.

Therefore, Ieyasu made an exception and traveled to Edo. He then told the Hidetada couple that they must distinguish between elder and younger and insisted that Takechiyo be the Shogun's heir. Although Ieyasu had passed the position of Shogun to his son, he was, after all, the man who had conquered the realm and still held actual control over the shogunate. Thus, the Hidetada couple, placed in an awkward position, had no choice but to drop the matter.

However, although they were forced by Ieyasu's command to accept Takechiyo as the heir, the Hidetada couple still favored Kunichiyo more. In his childhood, Kunichiyo often heard his grandfather Ieyasu and father Hidetada say that Takechiyo was the lord and he himself could only be his vassal in the future. He had also been humiliated by Iemitsu several times, and thus he, too, began to harbor some resentment toward Iemitsu.

He believed his own intelligence and appearance were superior to his elder brother Iemitsu's, so even knowing full well that the other would inherit the Shogun's position and become his lord, he did not change his contemptuous attitude toward Iemitsu. The conflict between the two brothers thus deepened over time, and they became like strangers.

In the sixth year of the Genna era, Tokugawa Hidetada, following his father's precedent, passed the position of Shogun to Takechiyo and became the Ōgosho himself. Takechiyo formally adopted the name Iemitsu and became the third Shogun of the shogunate. Because he had hated his younger brother Tadanaga since childhood, he made suppressing this brother one of his important tasks.

While Hidetada was still in power, Tadanaga had been treated relatively well. According to Tokugawa family custom, he received a fief and became a shinpan of the shogunate. He was enfeoffed in Suruga Province, and after several increases in his holdings, he ultimately possessed a territory of 550,000 koku, with the court rank of Dainagon, making him a standout among the shinpan.

But once Iemitsu began to wield power, blows and persecution came one after another. Using reports from the shogunate's informants in Suruga Province about Tadanaga's various illegal and disgraceful acts as a pretext, Iemitsu accused Tadanaga of oppressing the people within his domain and ignoring the remonstrations of his retainers. On these series of charges, he confiscated Tokugawa Tadanaga's domain, exiled him to Kōfu, and ordered him to be confined to his residence for reflection.

What was worse, when their father Tokugawa Hidetada passed away, he forbade Tokugawa Tadanaga from returning to mourn his father, forcing him to remain in his place of house arrest. In this way, Tokugawa Tadanaga lost all his domains and honors, and was not even permitted to see his beloved father one last time.

This immense humiliation further filled Tokugawa Tadanaga with indignation and hatred toward his elder brother. But Tokugawa Iemitsu had now consolidated his rule, and after their father's death, there was no one left to plead with Iemitsu on his behalf. He could only helplessly accept reality.

Yet, his brother Iemitsu's anger seemed still not fully vented. Not long after Hidetada's death, Iemitsu, using the pretext that his younger brother Tadanaga still had not repented during his confinement and continued his disgraceful behavior, ordered him to be exiled once more, this time to Takasaki Castle in Kōzuke Province, where conditions were even harsher, and imprisoned him there.

And this was not the end of his persecution.

Not long after Tokugawa Tadanaga was exiled to Takasaki Castle, Iemitsu dispatched Inaba Masakatsu, his trusted confidant who had served him since childhood and the current Rōjū of the shogunate, to handle the matter of Tokugawa Tadanaga.

After the Rōjū Inaba Masakatsu arrived at Takasaki Castle, the already very tight surveillance outside the castle became even more stringent. He ordered the entire Takasaki Castle to be surrounded with white bamboo palisades, forbidding anyone from entering or leaving at will. He also ordered that supplies brought into the castle be limited to food and daily necessities, no longer allowing him the use of his original belongings, and even news was cut off.

Being isolated with white bamboo palisades was exactly like how the Central Plains dynasties used high walls to confine imperial clansmen who had committed unlawful acts, except that Tokugawa Tadanaga's range of movement was slightly larger than those feudal princes. But in essence, the meaning was the same.

Having fallen from a position superior to everyone else to his current predicament, the loss and pain in Tokugawa Tadanaga's heart were naturally easy to imagine. He understood that his brother Tokugawa Iemitsu wanted to humiliate him in this way, to force him to commit suicide. Yet this kind of life was simply too unbearable, and several times he had wanted to simply escape this situation through suicide, granting his brother's wish.

However, although he had made up his mind many times, each time he reached the final step, he still stopped his hand because of his attachment to the human world.

After sitting in a daze for a moment, he slowly picked up the katana from the floor, and then let out another long sigh.

As long as these days continue, there will eventually come a day when I can no longer hold back and will do it. There is no need to rush it today.

"My lord! Do not do anything foolish!" Just then, a panicked shout came from outside the door.

Along with this shout, a young man dressed in kamishimo, attired as a samurai, rushed in and then knelt on the ground, earnestly trying to dissuade Tadanaga.

"The Shogun commands me to die, how can I not die? Even if I do not die today, I will die one day." Tokugawa Tadanaga laughed bitterly, toying with the sword hilt in his hand. "Would my death not be a good thing for you as well? You would be freed, no longer needing to stay here and suffer with me. Once you leave me, your brother will not make things difficult for you."

"My lord... I serve only you with all my heart, and think only of you. What brother is there to speak of!" The young man touched his head to the floor. "In this life, I follow only you, my lord, and will never wag my tail and beg for mercy from another!"

He was Inaba Masatoshi, the younger brother of the Rōjū outside, Inaba Masakatsu. However, unlike his brother, who had been assigned from childhood to be a close attendant to Tokugawa Iemitsu, he had been assigned to Tokugawa Tadanaga's side and had gained Tokugawa Tadanaga's deep trust. Thus, from a young age, because of the conflict between the two Tokugawa brothers, the two Inaba brothers had likewise turned against each other, and the accumulated resentment and conflict between them ran deep.

After Tokugawa Tadanaga was granted a domain by the shogunate and became a shinpan, Inaba Masatoshi naturally became a retainer of Tokugawa Tadanaga. And when Tokugawa Iemitsu exiled his younger brother, Inaba Masatoshi, as one of the condemned, was exiled along with Tokugawa Tadanaga, moving from place to place until they finally arrived at Takasaki Castle, sharing both honor and disgrace, as it were.

Seeing Inaba Masatoshi's sincere demeanor, Tokugawa Tadanaga felt somewhat moved in his heart. He gently placed the katana back onto the low table from before, then closed his eyes. "I do not know how long I can endure this kind of life... Before long, you will be free."

"My lord, it is precisely to report to you that I came today! I have just heard some earth-shattering news!" Inaba Masatoshi's face was somewhat flushed, clearly still caught up in the excitement of the news he had just learned. "My lord, you are saved!"

"What?" Tokugawa Tadanaga was bewildered. "What do you mean, saved?"

"The Great Han has fallen out with the shogunate and has already dispatched troops to Japan, declaring they will punish the shogunate and restore order and discipline within Japan! They have already conquered Kyushu and are preparing to advance further!" Inaba Masatoshi relayed the news he had received to Tokugawa Tadanaga in one breath. "The shogunate is now in complete chaos, everyone at a loss from top to bottom. Inaba Masakatsu has also been recalled by the Shogun to Edo to discuss countermeasures!"

Although the shogunate had intentionally cut off contact between Tadanaga, his retainers, and the outside world when they were exiled here, news as monumental as the Great Han's invasion of Japan still managed to reach them. At the same time, because Inaba Masakatsu had been urgently recalled to Edo, the surveillance at Takasaki Castle had inevitably relaxed slightly. Thus, Inaba Masatoshi had learned this information through guards he had previously bribed.

Of course, the guards could not possibly know too many details, so what they told him was only a vague general picture. Even so, this news still lifted Inaba Masatoshi's spirits, so he immediately ran over to report to his lord.

When Tokugawa Tadanaga first heard this, he found it unbelievable. He stared at Inaba Masatoshi, dumbfounded, thinking he might have gone mad. Yet, seeing the other's confident expression, he slowly came back to his senses.

"It... it is actually like this?" He felt extreme shock, followed by bewilderment. "Such a thing... could actually happen?"

Since the founding of the Great Han, because it placed great emphasis on commerce, its trade with the shogunate had been very frequent, and relations could be considered good. When Tokugawa Tadanaga was still a domain lord, he had purchased large quantities of luxury goods from the Great Han. He truly had not imagined that, in just the two or three years since he had been confined, relations between the two countries would suddenly deteriorate to this point, leading to war.

Even more unimaginable to him was that the shogunate would suffer a crushing defeat right at the start of the war, actually losing the entire island of Kyushu.

When the Kamakura shogunate was in power, the Mongol Yuan had also invaded, but the shogunate had held back the Mongol invaders' military might right there on Kyushu. Yet now... under the Tokugawa shogunate's rule, the entire island of Kyushu had fallen not long after the war began.

Humiliation and indignation, even heartache—these negative emotions suddenly ignited and blazed within his heart.

"Takechiyo, how can you face our father!" he shouted recklessly. "How can you face our grandfather! You have utterly disgraced the Tokugawa name!"

After this roaring venting continued for a while, he finally calmed down. Though his breathing grew heavy, he had at least regained his senses.

"How is the shogunate responding right now?" he asked at once.

"The news at present is not very reliable; I am not too clear on it either." Inaba Masatoshi shook his head. "But the shogunate is currently mustering a great army. I fear they intend to resist the Great Han with full force."

Then, he suddenly lowered his voice. "My lord, this is your opportunity right now. Let us find a way to escape! At present, the shogunate's energy is all focused on resisting the Great Han. As long as we break out of Takasaki Castle, they will not—and will have no means to—search for us across the boundless world!"

Yes, if I flee now, that man should have no spare strength left to hunt me down, right?

This suggestion made Tokugawa Tadanaga's heart suddenly open wide with clarity.

The reason he had still barely held on amid such circumstances and persecution, and had not taken his own life as others wished, was of course that he could not bear to die, but also because he harbored a sliver of wishful thinking, always hoping for a turn of fortune.

Although he clearly knew the outcome was despair, his will to live still made him unable to resist clinging to hope, wishing that something—some special turn of events—could happen, allowing him to turn danger into safety and escape this dreadful predicament.

Although the Great Han's invasion was terrible news for the shogunate and for the Tokugawa clan, for him personally, it was not entirely a bad thing. At the very least... he could use this opportunity to break free from this dreadful cage, and not have to bid farewell to the mortal world at such a young age.

He had not thought of escape before, because the shogunate's power already overawed all under heaven. Even if he managed to flee successfully, he would surely not evade the shogunate's pursuit, and would only die a more humiliating death then. But the situation now was completely different.

Escape, and he would not have to die! The unceasing thunderclaps in the sky seemed like a revelation heaven was granting him.