Chapter 1681: Fight to the Death to Seek Peace

1681. Chapter 1681: Fight to the Death to Seek Peace

It must be said, Tokugawa Iemitsu truly placed great hopes on Ii Naotaka. Not only did he meet Ii Naotaka's demands in numbers, but he also followed his ideas and assigned him many elite hatamoto troops, giving him full support.

In his view, the shogunate's prestige had already been greatly damaged, and the surrounding daimyo were all stirring restlessly. There was no more room to retreat; they had to display the shogunate's strength and will through fierce resistance, in order to calm the hearts of the realm and avoid falling into a situation where the whole realm besieged them.

Because the great army had already massed in Kanto and at the borders, redeployment was not difficult. And since the shogunate had previously enforced a scorched-earth policy in Kinai and the western provinces, a large stockpile of grain had been accumulated, making it more than ample to supply the front lines.

With soldiers and provisions fully prepared, and with the Shogun's full support, this great army was swiftly assembled. Then, under the personal command of Ii Naotaka himself, it began advancing toward Kinai.

The movement of such a great army could not possibly be kept silent. With the help of secretly collaborating powerful clans and wealthy merchants, news surged toward the Han army like snowflakes, spurring the Han army into action as well.

Without a doubt, the movement of this great army proved that the Han army's strategy had basically succeeded — the shogunate had drawn out the troops massed in Kanto, seeking a decisive battle with the Han army. This would inevitably weaken their strength in Kanto considerably, obviously meaning the Han army's main force would face less resistance in its operations.

However, this also meant that this branch of the Han army would face greater danger. Upon learning the news, Zhou Pu did not dare to be negligent. He immediately summoned the staff officers around him to discuss countermeasures, while also urgently pressing the various armies to complete their pre-planned operational objectives as quickly as possible.

The Han army had now fought its way into the Kinai region and was expanding its territory in all directions, and these territories had essentially fallen under the control of the Japanese court. But with the shogunate already dispatching a great army for reinforcement, the situation would certainly become much more tense. Therefore, to hold the occupied territory and stabilize the Japanese court's rule in these areas, they had to do their utmost to blunt the enemy's advance. This required Tachibana Muneshige to quickly seize the planned targets of Nara and Iga — at the very least, to mass the army there and resist the shogunate's reinforcements with full force.

On Zhou Pu's side, he also decided to capture Kyoto as quickly as possible to pacify the situation in Kinai, and then join forces to reinforce Tachibana Muneshige, who would certainly face immense pressure, assisting him in resisting the shogunate army and pinning this great army down in Kinai.

After victory after victory, Zhou Pu had become very confident in the army under his command, especially the Han army in his own hands, in which he had extreme faith. He believed that even if the shogunate massively reinforced Kinai, he could match them evenly. Thus, the key to everything was to capture Kyoto as quickly as possible, then join forces with Tachibana Muneshige to jointly resist the shogunate.

Under Zhou Pu's orders, the various armies intensified their movements and requisitioned provisions and supplies everywhere, making the entire Kinai region very unsettled for a time.

And at this moment, Kyoto also felt the pressure coming from the Han army's side.

In the headquarters of the Kyoto Shoshidai, Itakura Shigemune listened to his subordinate's report with a gloomy face.

Compared to his formerly spirited and confident demeanor, he was now much more dejected, and even his mind often drifted into a daze.

After the defeat at Himeji Castle, he had retreated with his defeated troops, but the Han bandits sent pursuit units that chased relentlessly, forcing him to flee all the way toward Kinai. The defeated troops he originally had were completely annihilated during the rout, ultimately becoming enemy war merits. In the end, he could only return to Kyoto with a few trusted samurai attendants.

Although quite a few shogunate troops remained in Kyoto, their morale had suffered a heavy blow due to the Shoshidai's disastrous defeat. Everyone feared they would become yet another sacrifice under the Han army's blade.

The terrain around Kyoto was flat and indefensible. As long as the enemy penetrated deep into Kinai, they could march straight to the walls of Kyoto. Moreover, since even a fortress like Himeji Castle could not withstand the Han bandits' onslaught, Kyoto would be even harder to defend now.

Amid this pervasive gloom, Itakura Shigemune had no particularly good solution to reverse the defeat and steady people's hearts. So he could only request the shogunate to send more reinforcements on one hand, while sending men to set up defenses in Kyoto on the other.

When Tokugawa Ieyasu was alive, he had made several journeys to Kyoto. To protect his own safety and simultaneously demonstrate the shogunate's status in Japan, he decided to build a fortress in Kyoto. This fortress was Nijo Castle. The construction costs were borne by the various daimyo of the western provinces.

After several years of construction, this Nijo Castle, located southwest of the Imperial Palace, was finally completed and became the shogunate's political center in Kyoto. Starting from Tokugawa Ieyasu, every generation of Tokugawa Shogun, when journeying to Kyoto and receiving the title of Shogun, resided in this Nijo Castle. The palace of Nijo Castle was also the place where successive shoguns received the western daimyo. The palace was built very large, to extremely high specifications; the Tokugawa house used this method to display its status.

Over a decade ago, Tokugawa Hidetada's daughter, Masako, set out from here to the Imperial Palace and became the Emperor's nyogo. And the then-Emperor Go-Mizunoo also rarely came personally to Nijo Castle to wed this woman of special status.

Over a decade later, the Emperor of that time had become the Cloistered Emperor, and Masako, then in the bloom of youth, had become the Chugu Empress. Yet the Tokugawa shogunate, which had once ruled Japan, had fallen into a predicament from which it struggled to escape, and was now on the verge of letting Kyoto fall into enemy hands. The impermanence of worldly affairs was evident.

Itakura Shigemune now had no leisure to lament the impermanence of worldly affairs. Ever since being driven back to Kyoto, he had immediately rallied the troops at hand and done his utmost to strengthen Kyoto's defenses. The defensive system he constructed was centered on Nijo Castle, spanning half of Kyoto, and made the atmosphere in Kyoto unprecedentedly tense.

However, although Nijo Castle was called a fortress, its walls were very low. Though the outer and inner compounds were surrounded by moats, the defensive works were still very crude compared to Himeji Castle. During this period, although Itakura Shigemune had men widen and deepen the moats, and set up many defensive works within the castle, even he did not have much confidence in withstanding the Han bandits' onslaught.

Without a doubt, now that the shogunate troops under his command were greatly diminished, as long as the Han bandits again displayed the determination and will they had when attacking Himeji Castle, Kyoto could not possibly be held. The reason he was now so zealous in strengthening Kyoto's defenses was essentially just to numb himself with busyness.

And his busyness did not prevent the situation from deteriorating step by step. Recently, bad news had come one after another, truly making it hard for him to cope. After winning the victory at Himeji Castle, the Han army had soon set out from Himeji Castle and fought into Kinai. And because Kinai's military strength was hollow, their advance was very smooth, occupying Kobe along the way and throwing Kinai into chaos.

Then they set out from Kobe, advancing in force and sweeping through various parts of Kinai. They first occupied Osaka, then launched multi-pronged attacks from Osaka, seizing vast tracts of land. By this time, not only places like Nara, but even Kyoto itself had become a direct target of the Han army.

When Itakura Shigemune learned that the Han envoy himself was personally leading a great army, setting out from Osaka and sweeping north along the Yodo River toward where he was, he did not panic, nor did his fighting spirit soar. Only a numb sense of inevitability remained.

Before the main force of the Han army, Kyoto could not possibly be spared. But he would lead his subordinates to fight for the shogunate until the very last moment, until death. At Himeji Castle, he had originally been prepared to die; surviving until now was already a stroke of luck, so he did not feel much fear about this.

The only thing that gave him some concern was how the shogunate and the Shogun would weather this crisis after his death. As the shogunate's chief official in the western provinces, no one understood better than him just how critical the current situation was. He had received the profound favor of three generations of Shogun, and truly could not bear to see the worst outcome occur.

With these tangled thoughts, he listened blankly to his subordinate's report in the headquarters, but his mind had already drifted elsewhere.

Today brought yet another piece of bad news. The Han army attacking Kyoto had now encamped at Fushimi; they were already at Kyoto's doorstep. Presumably, they would soon launch their final attack on Kyoto.

And Itakura Shigemune also knew that Kyoto was the gathering place of the court nobles. They bore no hatred toward the Han army; on the contrary, they were overjoyed at the court's return. They all knew that the court now had an army in its hands, and that in the future, Kinai would certainly become the court's domain, so their days would be much better than before. Under such circumstances, they naturally had no desire to resist.

Moreover, during this period, the court in exile had been constantly sending envoys here, issuing proclamations and edicts, calling upon the people here to rise up against the shogunate and cooperate with the court to retake Kyoto as soon as possible. Although Itakura Shigemune had tried every means to cut off contact between Kyoto and the Han bandits, even executing a batch of people to make an example, he also knew that the hearts of the people in Kyoto no longer belonged to him.

After his subordinate finished the report, he waved his hand casually, dismissing this subordinate, then sank back into deep thought, not even noticing that someone had already entered the room.

"My lord?" Only upon hearing this call did he come back to his senses.

The visitor was none other than Takagi Kiyoshi, the envoy sent by Elder Doi Toshikatsu.

"What business do you have with me?" Itakura Shigemune did not reproach him for coming directly to see him without being announced, but asked directly.

Recently, Takagi Kiyoshi had been constantly trying to make contact with the Han army, inquiring about the possibility of peace talks between the two sides. However, Itakura Shigemune held no confidence in this — the conditions the Han had previously proposed were already so harsh, and now that the Han army was advancing so smoothly, how could they possibly make concessions?

Yet, Takagi Kiyoshi's words quickly roused him.

"My lord... news has just arrived from Edo. The Shogun has decided to dispatch reinforcements to rescue Kinai!"

These words reignited the flame in Itakura Shigemune's heart. His spirits immediately lifted considerably, and he stared wide-eyed at Takagi Kiyoshi, hardly believing it was true. "What?"

"The Shogun has made his decision. He has appointed Lord Naotaka as commander, dispatching an army of tens of thousands, proclaimed as one hundred thousand, to Kinai to resist the Han bandits!" Takagi Kiyoshi explained once more. "The shogunate has been preparing for this these past few days. By the time we received the news, Lord Naotaka had probably already set out!"

"Excellent!" A surge of wild joy flooded Itakura Shigemune's heart.

Ii Naotaka was the Tairō of the shogunate, arguably the person of highest prestige within the shogunate at present. If he personally led a great army to attack Kinai, then the Han bandits' advance would surely be checked. This great army might even be able to relieve Kyoto and salvage the current perilous situation. As long as the shogunate exerted its full strength to hold off the Han bandits in Kinai, the situation could certainly be reversed, and at least peace talks would have hope.

He raised his head again to look out the window, but now his eyes were full of hope. "If Lord Naotaka is here, the realm has hope!"

"Lord Naotaka is loyal and devoted, stepping forward at such a time to turn the tide is truly admirable." Takagi Kiyoshi also nodded gently, clearly very pleased by this as well. "However, my lord, now is not the time for rejoicing. The situation is still fraught with dangers. Please, my lord, be extra cautious, and do not let this news disrupt your composure!"

With these words, Itakura Shigemune calmed down considerably.

Indeed, distant water cannot quench a nearby fire. The Han army was now close at hand. Even if the shogunate's great army set out from Kanto now, it presumably could not reach Kyoto quickly to rescue them, and might not even be able to fight its way to Kyoto at all.

So there was still no hope for him here.

At this thought, Itakura Shigemune's previously soaring spirits sank once more. However, in his view, as long as the shogunate could hold off the Han bandits, then even if he died, it would mean nothing. He would simply die here for the shogunate; killing a few more enemies would also be a good thing.

"My lord, there is one more matter from Edo that I must inform you of... it was personally ordered by the Elder." Just then, Takagi Kiyoshi suddenly spoke. "The Elder instructs you to quickly organize your troops and withdraw eastward, to link up with the shogunate reinforcements as soon as possible and jointly attack the Han bandits!"

"What?" Itakura Shigemune's eyes widened in shock. "The Elder is telling us to withdraw from Kyoto?"

Kyoto's importance to Japan was self-evident. If the shogunate lost Kyoto, it would certainly cause a tremendous shock throughout the realm. So upon hearing that the Elder actually demanded he withdraw from Kyoto, Itakura Shigemune found it truly unbelievable.

"Yes, this is the Elder's intention." Takagi Kiyoshi repeated once more.

"No... impossible!" Itakura Shigemune's face flushed red, appearing somewhat angry. "At Himeji Castle, I already retreated once and became the laughingstock of the realm. If I retreat again now... what face would I have left to live? I cannot repeatedly do such things that disgrace a samurai's honor! Even if I must die, I will stay and die fighting in Kyoto!"

"Even if you stay here, my lord, can you hold Kyoto?" Takagi Kiyoshi suddenly countered. "If you cannot hold it, then will your honor not be damaged regardless?"

This counter-question left Itakura Shigemune momentarily speechless. He indeed had no confidence in holding Kyoto.

"My lord, the situation in Kyoto now, you know it and I know it. The situation is as precarious as a pile of eggs, and the defending troops, from top to bottom, are already wavering. The residents do not support us either. This place is nearly a death trap for the defenders... If you forcibly keep them here, it will only be sending them into the tiger's jaws of the Han bandits, a needless sacrifice."

After refuting Itakura Shigemune's words, Takagi Kiyoshi continued, "And if we transfer them out, we can coordinate with Lord Naotaka's reinforcements! My lord must also know that that great traitor Tachibana Muneshige is now leading troops to attack Nara — clearly he intends to block the shogunate's reinforcements... If Kyoto dispatches troops, we can strike Tachibana Muneshige from both front and rear. Wouldn't that be a great achievement? As long as we eliminate Tachibana Muneshige, the Han bandits will inevitably suffer a heavy blow as well. Surely that is better than staying here to sacrifice ourselves in vain?"

Itakura Shigemune carefully pondered Takagi Kiyoshi's words and felt there was indeed some sense to them.

Yet he still had reservations. The rout all the way from Himeji Castle, the constant pursuit by Tachibana Muneshige on the road — that wretched displacement still felt like a nightmare when he recalled it now. He never wanted to endure that feeling again.

"But... the army's morale is already broken. If I lead the troops in retreat again, I fear I won't be able to keep the army under control on the road. Here in Kyoto, we can still mount a defense. If we leave the city and are out in the open field, I'm afraid we'll collapse at the first clash!" After a moment, he spoke with deep anguish, "Besides, the Han bandits have already reached Fushimi. Even if we wanted to withdraw eastward, we have little margin left."

"It is precisely because the Han bandits have only reached Fushimi that we still have a chance to leave. If the Han bandits truly reach the outskirts of Kyoto, then we will have nowhere left to retreat!" Takagi Kiyoshi still would not accept his argument. "My lord, we can first withdraw northeast to Ōtsu, then turn south and coordinate with Lord Naotaka to encircle and annihilate the traitor Tachibana Muneshige's army!"

Itakura Shigemune pondered in silence for a moment. He felt what the other said was indeed reasonable, but... the thought of withdrawing from Kyoto just like that was still too bitter to accept.

"My lord, at this juncture, hesitate no longer!" Takagi Kiyoshi urged once more. "If we hold out here to the death, Kyoto will inevitably become a sea of flames. I fear the tragedy of the Ōnin War will repeat itself. Kyoto is the capital of our nation — it cannot be too devastated... Furthermore, if we do this, we will forge a blood feud with the Imperial Court. The Court is no longer what it once was. If we become mortal enemies with the Court, I fear there will never again be a chance for peace talks!"

So in the end, it was all for the sake of peace talks. Itakura Shigemune finally saw the truth, and a bitter laugh rose in his heart.

Had the shogunate truly fallen to such a state?

Yet, however anguished he felt, he still admitted that the other's reasoning was sound.

Unlike the days when it existed in name only, the Imperial Court now possessed troops, coin, and grain. It had become a force that could not be ignored. If they insisted on fighting to the death in Kyoto, such enmity would likely be impossible to mitigate.

"Then... then I shall remain in Kyoto. I will take the warriors beside me and fight the Han bandits to the death within Nijō Castle..." After long consideration, he finally let out a deep sigh. "The rest — you shall lead them away."

Then he smiled bitterly again. "No doubt, Nijō Castle will certainly be destroyed by the Imperial Court after the war. Even if I burn it to ashes, no one will lament it."