Chapter 1658: Peace Talks Are Also an Option

"Peace talks?" The phrase grated on Tokugawa Iemitsu the moment he heard it. "Go make peace with the Great Han?!"

"Please forgive me, my lord!" As if sensing his master's anger, Doi Toshikatsu immediately touched his head to the floor. "What I have said here today is merely my own personal opinion. If my lord does not wish to hear such counsel, I will absolutely speak no further of it!"

For a moment, the entire room sank into deathly silence.

Though inwardly furious at the proposal of peace talks, Tokugawa Iemitsu also understood that Doi Toshikatsu was willing to speak of such matters with him at a time like this purely out of loyalty. At this juncture, he should not push away someone's heartfelt devotion.

"No, continue," he said, gradually regaining his composure. He waved a hand, signaling the other to go on. "There are only the two of us here. Nothing you say will pass beyond this room. Speak freely."

"Thank you, my lord!" Having gained Tokugawa Iemitsu's consent, Doi Toshikatsu himself breathed a sigh of relief. "The situation is now very clear. The opposition forces within our country have all seized the opportunity of the Great Han's invasion to rally together. Some have already openly sided with the Great Han against us, and many more are surely stirring in the shadows, waiting for the situation to become clearer before they too turn against us..."

Tokugawa Iemitsu's brow furrowed slightly, but he knew the other spoke the truth, so he did not interrupt, letting him continue.

"Therefore, I believe that for the shogunate, the greatest enemy is no longer the Great Han... but rather these outside domains and the imperial court. These outside domains and the court all bear deep grudges against us. If given the chance, they will surely do everything in their power to put the shogunate and the shogun to death. The Great Han, however... may not necessarily do the same," Doi Toshikatsu said, choosing his words with extreme care.

"Although the Great Han's declaration of war uses very harsh language, one would think that the Great Han did not send a great army here merely to chastise the shogunate for the sake of venting anger. The Great Han is unlike the previous Central Plains dynasties; they seem to be extremely pragmatic, and they value commerce and profit. They would likely not do something that is clearly a losing proposition..."

"But they have already invaded!" At this, Tokugawa Iemitsu could finally contain himself no longer.

"Even if they have invaded, there is still, in the end, some room to maneuver... The Great Han launched this invasion because they ultimately seek something. Whatever they seek, it is easier for them to obtain it from us than from others. If they want gold and silver, we have it... we can give it to them. As long as we carefully consider the balance of interests, it is not necessarily impossible to de-escalate things between both sides." Doi Toshikatsu showed no fear, remaining just as composed. "My lord, as long as we can send the Great Han army away, we can eventually muster our strength and wipe out all the rebels across the land in one sweep, securing the shogunate's realm once more!"

"That... is far too wishful. Since the Great Han has invaded, they will certainly not let go easily. Even if we wish to negotiate peace with them, how could it be so simple?" Tokugawa Iemitsu was still deeply hesitant. "Besides, with the Great Han army advancing so swiftly now, their morale must be soaring, their spirits a hundredfold higher. How could they possibly agree to peace talks with us?"

"I also believe the Great Han will not agree to peace talks easily. This requires us to strive on the battlefield. Only by withstanding the edge of their advance can we force them to negotiate peace with us. Therefore, waging war remains the first priority. But we can first send out feelers to see what exactly the Great Han wants, so that we can make some preparations early on." Doi Toshikatsu leaned forward slightly, drawing closer to Tokugawa Iemitsu. "My lord, now that the Great Han has landed, we must figure out what they are scheming."

Tokugawa Iemitsu remained silent, pondering. He found that Doi Toshikatsu's words made a great deal of sense. This military calamity was an unexpected, undeserved disaster for him and for the shogunate, and if it continued, the shogunate would clearly be battered by storms from both internal strife and external threats, and he would become the sinner of the Tokugawa family... If there truly was some way to send the Great Han away, that would naturally be best for the shogunate.

Of course, this also required the shogunate to earn enough bargaining chips on the battlefield, at least to hold the Great Han to a stalemate; otherwise, the other side would have no need to negotiate peace with him.

"In your view, if we truly do negotiate peace with the Great Han, what are our chances?" After a long silence, Tokugawa Iemitsu suddenly asked. "Is it truly possible that the Great Han would accept a peace agreement?"

When he heard the shogun ask this, Doi Toshikatsu felt a wave of relief in his heart, knowing that the shogun was also inclined to try this path.

"I dare not say I am completely confident, but if we do not try, then there is no hope at all. Therefore, no matter what, sending someone to test the waters can never be wrong... At first, the Great Han will surely demand an exorbitant price, but in making those exorbitant demands, they will inevitably reveal what it is they truly want. We can then bargain them down bit by bit through the battlefield. Eventually, there will come a time when both sides are satisfied."

"But the Great Han has now explicitly ordered that we be held accountable. How could peace talks be so easily achieved?" Tokugawa Iemitsu shook his head, clearly still very pessimistic. "Have you not read the Great Han's declaration of war? It brands us all as criminals, saying we must be punished... Are we supposed to just sit and wait for death?"

"The Great Han bears no personal grudge against the shogunate or the shogun. This so-called explicit order to hold us accountable is merely a prior propaganda strategy... It is not necessarily unchangeable in the face of profit." Doi Toshikatsu was not nervous in the slightest. "If both sides can reach an agreement, the Great Han will make concessions and withdraw with what they want. We will then offer up a few chief culprits who soured relations between the two nations for punishment. That way, everyone has a way to back down gracefully..."

Doi Toshikatsu was naturally tactful and deep. Previously, when the shogunate was internally discussing the issue of trade with the Great Han, out of consideration for the shogunate's interests, although he supported restricting the scale of trade between the two countries, out of caution he deliberately refrained from making any very clear statements or directives on these issues, and even less did he participate in the specific execution. Instead, he watched coldly from the sidelines, letting Sakai Tadayo and others act.

It was precisely because of his "clean hands" on this issue that he could so readily propose peace talks — since he was not implicated, the punishment of the chief culprits certainly could not reach him. If the peace agreement truly succeeded, he could even use the opportunity to eliminate some people he found disagreeable, all without any loss to himself.

"Punish the chief culprits..." Tokugawa Iemitsu's heart stirred.

Although Doi Toshikatsu spoke very obliquely, Tokugawa Iemitsu naturally understood that he meant to make certain people take the blame for the war between the two nations.

And he, too, indeed found some people disagreeable. If peace could truly be negotiated, would pushing these people out to commit seppuku and apologize for their crimes not also be a good thing?

The premise was that they truly could, as envisioned, get both sides to negotiate peace.

In any case, there was no harm in testing the waters. Tokugawa Iemitsu finally made up his mind.

"Very well, then. Do as you say. Select a few trustworthy candidates and send them to the western provinces to communicate with the Great Han's people. See if there is any possibility of peace talks at all. You must act with extreme caution; there is no need to let those in Kyoto know."

Although he was extremely displeased with the treacherous Great Han, he hated these rebels against him even more. If possible, he truly wished to pay some price within tolerable limits to send these plague gods of the Great Han away, and then concentrate his efforts on rooting out these domestic rebels one by one, fulfilling the long-cherished wish of the Tokugawa family's complete unification.

"I obey your command!" Seeing his proposal adopted, Doi Toshikatsu was very pleased, but on the surface he only smiled faintly, and the smile quickly faded. He solemnly reminded his lord, "However, my lord, I stand by what I said before: since ancient times, only those who can fight can make peace. To make the other side agree to peace, we must prove ourselves worthy... Therefore, my lord, you must not harbor wishful thinking because of these peace feelers. You must still adhere to the previous strategy and preserve the foundation of the shogunate above all else! That way, whether the peace talks succeed or not, at least there is still hope for everything."

"Of course I know that," Tokugawa Iemitsu said, a bit impatiently. "In any case, just go and handle this for me. Get this matter done as quickly as possible. Whether it succeeds or not, I need a result."

After giving this order, he fell into thought again. "Earlier you mentioned relocating the imperial court and the domain lords of the western provinces to Edo. That matter is going fairly smoothly, but now, relocating only the western domain lords is probably not enough. We might as well relocate the domain lords of the eastern provinces as well."

Because so many of the daimyo in the western provinces had defected one after another, Tokugawa Iemitsu now harbored a deeply distrustful attitude toward all daimyo who were not related to his family or hereditary vassals. In his view, while the great domains of the west were certainly unstable, were the great domains of the east any more stable? They harbored rebellious intentions just the same.

For example, the Date family of Sendai Domain, northeast of Edo, had previously entertained thoughts of contending with the Tokugawa for the realm. The family head, Date Masamune, had been quite talented in his youth. After years of campaigning, he had finally received a domain of 620,000 koku in Sendai from Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Yet he had always been proud and ambitious, repeatedly lamenting that he had been born twenty years too late, forcing him to bow his head to Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu instead of contending for the realm as they had.

After Toyotomi Hideyoshi's death, Tokugawa Ieyasu deliberately sought to win over the powerful Date family, so he arranged a marriage alliance with them, having his son Matsudaira Tadateru marry Date Masamune's daughter. Later, when the Battle of Sekigahara broke out, in order to secure the Date family's support, Tokugawa Ieyasu even wrote a personal letter to the Date family, promising to reward them with a domain of one million koku.

However, after truly winning the Battle of Sekigahara and seizing the reins of power, Tokugawa Ieyasu never mentioned this matter again, as if he had never made any promise at all. Date Masamune had sought an explanation from the shogunate several times, but the shogunate directly rebuffed him each time, leaving him seething with resentment.

But even seething with resentment, he could only helplessly accept this outcome. However, ever since then, he had been secretly plotting against the shogunate, involving himself several times in the shogunate's power struggles. Although Date Masamune was now advanced in years and nearing his end, it was conceivable that if an opportunity arose to rise against the shogunate, he would likely not refuse this chance for revenge.

The Date family was probably not the only one in the Kanto region discontent with the shogunate. The Maeda family of Kaga Domain, for instance, had always been extremely cunning, accustomed to trimming their sails to the wind. How much loyalty they held for the shogunate was highly questionable. They possessed a domain spanning the three provinces of Kaga, Noto, and Etchu, totaling one million koku, and their strength was formidable — truly difficult to feel at ease about.

Thus, it was only logical that Tokugawa Iemitsu wanted to extend the relocation order targeting the western domain lords to the eastern provinces as well.

Doi Toshikatsu, however, held a different view.

"My lord, I believe now is not the time to do this," he directly advised against Tokugawa Iemitsu's idea. "The great domains of the east have not yet been directly impacted by the Great Han, and they face the shogunate's main army directly. Therefore, even if they are stirring in their hearts, they will remain in a wait-and-see state for now and will not act rashly... If the shogun truly issues such an order, they will likely grow suspicious and fearful, and instead be driven to desperate risks. It is best for now to pacify them and not let them join the chaos."

Doi Toshikatsu's words also made a great deal of sense, which left Tokugawa Iemitsu in a dilemma. "What you say is reasonable. But now, the declarations of war from both the Great Han and the imperial court have been widely distributed. Even if we are blocking the news, they will surely learn of the situation very soon. If we truly do nothing, it will inevitably lead to major trouble."

"There is indeed that risk, but with a great enemy before us, I truly believe we should not be creating more enemies for ourselves." Doi Toshikatsu sighed, clearly having no particularly good solution for this either. "I believe it would be best for the shogun himself to pacify them, while promising them rewards and titles after the war, and not pressing them to send troops or provisions. As long as they stay quiet and do nothing, that will suffice. Presumably, they would be quite happy to wait and see..."

"Then we have no choice but to let them continue watching and waiting." After a long silence, Tokugawa Iemitsu finally let out a dejected sigh. "Do as you say."

He had a violent temperament and had always done as he pleased. Moreover, ever since becoming shogun, everything had gone smoothly for him, with no one in the realm daring to defy him, which made him all the more arrogant. Yet when faced with a true crisis, he finally discovered that so many dangers had been lurking by his side. A sense of dejection and weariness was inevitable.

But even if weary, he had to endure, because the Tokugawa family's realm absolutely could not be lost.

How could the spirits of his grandfather and father in heaven possibly permit him to squander the family legacy completely? A pressure as heavy as a mountain bore down upon him, making him anxious, making him furious. He wanted to vent this fury somewhere, but there was nowhere to vent it.

"My lord, I have one more matter to advise on," Doi Toshikatsu suddenly spoke again at that moment. "The shogunate's external affairs must be sorted out, and its internal affairs must be sorted out as well. We must stabilize the hearts of our people internally, and also put an end to some unstable matters, so that hidden dangers can no longer cause trouble."

"What do you mean?" Tokugawa Iemitsu did not understand for a moment and looked at him in confusion.

Doi Toshikatsu said no more, merely bowing his head low, as if waiting for Tokugawa Iemitsu to make the decision himself.

Seeing his demeanor, Tokugawa Iemitsu finally understood what he meant.

This matter was indeed very important. It was because he had scruples that he dared not speak plainly.

"Yes, Tadanaga must be dealt with," he said coldly after a moment. "At a time like this, we absolutely cannot allow anyone to use his name to stir up chaos within the shogunate."

Then, he curled his lip, clearly showing some contempt. "He still hasn't committed suicide. Utterly shameless!"

He was indeed displeased that Tokugawa Tadanaga had not had the decency to kill himself.

……………………

At this moment, Zhou Pu and the great army under his command were, of course, completely ignorant of the internal movements and news within the shogunate. For now, they were solely focused on advancing toward a single objective. For him, the end of the road ahead was nothing other than Kyoto.

During their advance, they had directly entered the lands of Hiroshima Domain. Perhaps driven by the promise of rewards, or perhaps wanting to demonstrate their worth before the Great Han, the coalition forces of the various domains under his command fought with great valor. The domain army within Hiroshima Domain did not put up much resistance before beginning to retreat, leaving vast tracts of land, along with the domain castle, to the advancing army.

The reason the Asano family's resistance was so minimal was that they had discovered the shogunate had no intention of sending a large army to Hiroshima Domain to assist them in resisting the Great Han's military edge. Instead, the shogunate had issued orders for their domain lord to relocate to the Kanto region.

Under these circumstances, the lord of Hiroshima Domain, Asano Mitsuakira — who had already been terrified by the Great Han invasion — was more than happy to go along with it. He immediately chose to lead his trusted domain officials in fleeing Hiroshima Domain, then ordered his domain's army to withdraw north to Kyoto, rendezvous with the shogunate forces there, and accept the shogunate's command.

This domain lord, only sixteen years old, had inherited the position of family head just last year after his father's death, and was still basically at a stage of knowing nothing. After hearing the rumors of how terrifying the Great Han army was, how could he, raised in comfort and privilege since childhood, have any inclination to resist?

With the domain lord and domain officials having fled, the Hiroshima Domain army naturally had no will to fight. Some chose to obey and withdraw north to Kyoto, but many refused to leave. They had no concept of nation; they simply regarded their own domain as their duty to defend, so they had no desire to go to Kyoto and shed blood in vain for the shogunate. Many of these people simply chose to surrender, while quite a few dispersed directly into the mountains, forests, and countryside.

Zhou Pu and his men were naturally pleased to see this situation. After capturing the domain castle of Hiroshima Domain, they issued proclamations ordering the former personnel of Hiroshima Domain everywhere to maintain order so as not to disrupt the army's logistics supply, then left a small force to garrison the rear while the main army continued its advance.

During this march, the troops under Zhou Pu's command plundered the villages along the way. Zhou Pu knew that these domain armies were a mixed lot and that plundering was unavoidable, and that some plundering was also needed to maintain military supplies and morale. However, in order not to provoke rebellion in the rear, he still issued orders to restrain the troops, at least keeping Hiroshima Domain relatively peaceful.