Chapter 1698: A Rightful and Justified Victory

When Doi Toshikatsu saw Tokugawa Iemitsu and Kasuga no Tsubone collapse together in a pool of blood, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Since he had come today to lay his cards on the table with Tokugawa Iemitsu, he was determined not to leave until he witnessed the shogun's death. Kneeling on the ground to plead was merely a gesture of sincerity, a nod to the bond between lord and retainer built over many years. If Tokugawa Iemitsu remained obstinate and refused to take his own life, then he would simply have to assist the shogun in the task himself.

Fortunately, Tokugawa Iemitsu had indeed grasped the greater cause — or rather, he had truly reached the depths of despair. He offered no more futile resistance, committed no further act that would bring shame upon the Tokugawa house, and instead chose to end his life directly, fulfilling the expectations of Doi Toshikatsu and the others.

Doi Toshikatsu walked slowly toward that pool of blood. The floor was stained with the blood of two people; the large pool of scarlet liquid was a shocking sight, and the smell was even more unbearably foul. Yet Doi Toshikatsu did not mind. He carefully avoided the bloodstains and walked up to Tokugawa Iemitsu.

After plunging the blade into his own abdomen, Tokugawa Iemitsu could not endure the pain and asked Kasuga no Tsubone to act as his second. She carried out his order, but because she was, after all, a woman of little strength, even with a sharp blade she failed to sever Tokugawa Iemitsu's head completely from his neck. A ghastly wound remained, with some flesh and bone still connecting it to the neck — a truly horrifying sight.

Fortunately, such a wound was more than fatal. Tokugawa Iemitsu had already breathed his last and no longer had to endure any more agonizing pain. His head now lolled to one side, his eyes still open, staring vacantly into the void, filled with pain and despair.

From this moment on, he would never again need to fret or be troubled by anything, nor would he ever need to live in fear and dread.

"Shogun, my apologies." Doi Toshikatsu murmured these words silently to himself, with little genuine remorse. Then, ignoring Kasuga no Tsubone, who was still faintly convulsing on the ground with a blade in her abdomen, he simply waved his hand and ordered his men to come forward and sever Tokugawa Iemitsu's head.

After Tokugawa Iemitsu's head was severed, Doi Toshikatsu still did not rest. He issued a constant stream of orders, urging his trusted subordinates to continue purging and maintaining order throughout Edo Castle and the Great Interior, while also sending men with Tokugawa Iemitsu's head out of the castle to welcome the commander of the Great Han army.

By the time the shogunate's envoy reached the front lines of the Great Han army, the Great Han forces had already fought their way to the walls of Edo Castle and could see the shadowy outlines of distant civilian houses. After the Tokugawa house was transferred to the Kanto region and made Edo its headquarters, three generations of shoguns had spent decades developing it. Edo had become a rare, sprawling metropolis, its scope far exceeding its original founding. Houses clustered densely, and streets crisscrossed in every direction — it was precisely for this reason that the shogunate had been so terrified upon hearing that the Great Han army threatened Edo's water sources and water transport, because sustaining such a massive population required enormous effort.

After winning the Battle of the Tama River, the Great Han army's morale soared. Through a series of pursuits, they completely routed the shogunate forces that Tokugawa Iemitsu had brought to meet them. After a brief rest, they advanced directly on Edo, intending to capture the city in one vigorous push.

However, the Great Han army, which had been preparing for one final great battle, rather regretfully abandoned that wish after the envoy arrived. Zhao Song, however, was quite pleased. Although the shogunate army had been crushed, if Edo Castle resisted to the death, his subordinates would inevitably suffer further casualties. Now that they were willing to give up resistance, it was naturally the best outcome.

After already winning a brilliant victory like the Battle of the Tama River, he no longer needed new victories to cow Japan or add to his own merits. Now, every subordinate who could be spared from death was a good thing.

When Zhao Song summoned the envoy before him, the envoy was trembling with fear. After the Great Han army had won the battle with overwhelming, devastating momentum, Zhao Song, the commander of the Great Han expeditionary force against Japan, had already established a terrifying image in the minds of these shogunate men; naturally, they felt some dread toward him.

Zhao Song, as usual, wore a stern, unsmiling expression. He had his attendants take the box containing Tokugawa Iemitsu's head, casually opened it for a glance, met the head's vacant gaze for a fleeting instant, and then simply waved for his attendants to take the box away.

"Can your Elder Councilor control the situation now?" he asked the envoy coldly. "If so, Edo can be spared the flames of war. But if anyone still dares to resist, my army will show no mercy!"

Upon hearing the translation, the envoy kowtowed again in terror. "My lord, Edo Castle is now completely under the Elder Councilor's control. The entire shogunate, from top to bottom, has resolved to submit to Great Han. The few stubborn, unrepentant villains have either been killed or imprisoned by the Elder Councilor. They will never cause trouble again. Please rest assured, my lord!"

"Very well, then I shall have our great army halt here and advance no further." Zhao Song softened his tone slightly. "Go back and report to Doi Toshikatsu. Tell him that in a few days, I will personally lead my retinue into Edo. Have him prepare the reception. Also, our army's supplies must not be interrupted. Otherwise, he will have to bear the consequences!"

"Yes! Yes! Understood!" Seeing that this Great Han general had accepted the surrender, the envoy hastily agreed and then hurriedly took his leave and departed.

"My lord... Edo is still in a state of chaos, and our own forces are so few. I fear it may not be advisable for you to risk yourself by going to Edo in person...?" After the envoy left, Yan Guang looked at Zhao Song with some doubt. "If you go to Edo and a sudden incident occurs, I fear... I fear the consequences would be dire..."

"It is precisely because the situation is chaotic now that I must go to Edo. By entering Edo Castle, I can proclaim to all Japanese who is in charge now, and I can also keep Doi Toshikatsu and his ilk in check. Our army is too small to pacify every region, and time is pressing, so we must stabilize the situation as quickly as possible. To achieve this, what does it matter if I take a little risk?" Zhao Song shook his head slightly. "I have always heard that the Japanese do not value honor and fear and submit only to the strong. Now that we have defeated the shogunate, they surely fear us. In this situation, we must continue to project the posture of the strong and must not show any hint of timidity. Only then can we intimidate them and make them act according to our will."

After a pause, he smiled faintly again. "However, you are also right. In all things, we must prepare for the worst. We must be bold but not reckless, so thorough preparations must still be made. After I take men into Edo, you will remain here in command of the main army. Should anything untoward happen to me, you will continue to lead the army in attacking Edo without regard for my life or death. Also, have the navy's warships sail to the waters outside Edo Castle — that will serve as a deterrent as well."

Before, Zhao Song's sole obsession had been how to defeat the shogunate. Now that the shogunate had knelt and surrendered, his considerations had shifted to how to stabilize the Kanto region and even the entire situation in Japan as quickly as possible, so that Great Han could swiftly dominate all of Japan according to its own will. Zhao Song understood that for Great Han, defeating the shogunate was merely a means, not the ultimate goal. Their ultimate goal was to extract as much wealth as possible from Japan with the least cost and effort, to be offered up to the Great Han court and its people.

For this purpose, Zhao Song felt that showing some leniency toward the shogunate now, and taking some risks, was all worthwhile.

"Very well! Then let us do as Commander Zhao says." After considering for a moment, Yan Guang finally agreed with Zhao Song's proposal. "Please take good care of yourself, Commander Zhao!"

Two days later, Zhao Song, accompanied by several dozen of his personal retinue, arrived in Edo Castle.

They received an extremely grand welcome. When Zhao Song arrived outside Edo Castle, the shogunate Elder Councilor Doi Toshikatsu led the already surrendered shogunate officials and generals to line the entire route, kneeling prostrate on the ground. The streets and alleys of Edo had been completely cleared, with not a single pedestrian along the way — clearly, strict security measures were in place.

After arriving in Edo, Zhao Song first offered gentle words of encouragement to Doi Toshikatsu and the others for their merit in abandoning darkness for the light. He then reiterated to them that Great Han had no desire to exterminate the Tokugawa house and the shogunate officials. Now that the chief instigator of the enmity between the two sides had been executed and the others had received due punishment, Great Han would not pursue the matter further with anyone else.

Having received Zhao Song's personal guarantee, these men all set their minds at ease. They showered Zhao Song with praise for his benevolence and martial valor, showing no trace of the fact that they had been mortal enemies not long ago. All traces left behind by Tokugawa Iemitsu had already vanished without a trace.

With Zhao Song personally overseeing matters, and under the pressure of the Great Han army and fleet stationed outside Edo Castle, the previously chaotic Edo gradually returned to stability. The supply of goods slowly resumed, and people began to return to their daily lives. Only in those households that had lost loved ones in the Battle of the Tama River could one see the scars left by the terrible flames of war.

The news of Great Han's complete victory at the Battle of the Tama River and the suicide of Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu quickly spread throughout Japan. The shogunate's Great Elder Ii Naotaka also received word from the envoy.

Such a devastating blow caused many in the army to wail and weep, utterly heartbroken. Even Ii Naotaka himself, though mentally prepared, could not help but shed tears.

Yet, weeping aside, he knew what mattered most. At present, he could only strive to preserve the Tokugawa house and his own family; he truly had no leisure to mourn Tokugawa Iemitsu for too long.

The envoy from Edo, besides conveying the news of Tokugawa Iemitsu's death, also informed them that the commander of the Great Han expeditionary force had already entered and stationed himself in Edo Castle, and that the entire shogunate had submitted to Great Han. He also relayed orders from Edo, demanding that this shogunate army surrender to the Great Han envoy as soon as possible.

Such an order naturally provoked extreme resistance from some. They harbored deep hatred for Great Han and were even more unwilling to bear the shame of defeat. Yet the majority accepted it in silence. With Edo fallen and Tokugawa Iemitsu dead by suicide, they could no longer find a reason to fight. Moreover, with their rear supply lines already cut off, continuing to fight would only lead to total destruction.

Besides, the families of most of them were now under the threat of the Great Han army. If they continued to resist, it would likely invite the extermination of their entire households.

Under these psychological conditions, Ii Naotaka, who had already intended to surrender, found his task much easier. He placed the small die-hard faction that still wanted to resist to the end under confinement and ordered them to commit suicide, while simultaneously sending men to propose surrender to the Great Han envoy on the opposing side.

The Great Han envoy, Zhou Pu, immediately accepted his surrender and ordered his army to disarm on the spot, while guaranteeing that no harm would come to the prisoners.

After securing Ii Naotaka's cooperation, Zhou Pu had his own troops take over the encampments of the opposing shogunate forces and placed them all under temporary detention. He did, however, honor his promise, doing no harm to the prisoners and merely disarming them.

Thus, the war between Great Han and the entire shogunate came to an end, concluding with a total victory for Great Han. At the same time, Zhou Pu issued a proclamation to all of Japan, ordering all Japanese daimyo to remain strictly within their own domains and forbidding them from crossing their borders by even half a step, pending further disposition by the Japanese court. Now that the shogunate had been defeated, Zhou Pu needed to reorganize Japan's order and restrain the regional daimyo, preventing them from expanding recklessly.

Under his orders, and out of fear of Great Han's military might, the vast majority of daimyo complied. The Maeda house of Kaga Domain and the Date house of Sendai Domain, which had begun crossing borders to attack shogunate territory, both withdrew their troops and waited anxiously for further orders from Great Han.

During this period, Zhou Pu issued a constant stream of decrees, settling order everywhere while promoting, rewarding, and punishing. He acted with the full authority of a supreme overlord. Through his and Zhao Song's efforts, order in Japan was gradually and steadily restored.

After his own army surrendered and the great host dispersed, Ii Naotaka was summoned by Zhou Pu to his station. Because of his merit in surrendering, he received relatively good treatment, though Zhou Pu, swamped with affairs, had not summoned him for an audience until now.

Only after Zhou Pu had somewhat stabilized the situation did Ii Naotaka finally get the chance to meet him. Summoned at the same time was Tokugawa Tadanaga, the legitimate son of the Tokugawa house and Tokugawa Iemitsu's own younger brother.

Because he had long known of Great Han's arrangements, Ii Naotaka was not surprised to encounter Tokugawa Tadanaga. However, when he saw with his own eyes that the Great Han envoy, now wielding such immense power, was actually so young, Ii Naotaka was still somewhat astonished.

But he also knew that Great Han was a newly founded dynasty, and even the Great Han Son of Heaven himself was very young, so he quickly regained his composure. Still, a tumult of mixed emotions surged within his heart.

Tokugawa Tadanaga had arrived at Zhou Pu's encampment not long before. To escape his elder brother's shadow and to preserve the Tokugawa bloodline and its foundation, after much deliberation, he had ultimately decided to throw in his lot with Great Han and become the next head of the Tokugawa house under Great Han's support.

Because of years of grudges and entanglements between the brothers, the news of his brother's death did not sadden him; on the contrary, he was quite pleased. He was even more pleased that he had finally emerged from his previous predicament and become the head of the Tokugawa house, a position he had long dreamed of.

Although it was a great pity to lose the position of shogun, the Tokugawa house's foundation remained, and vast territories were still there. With a little reorganization and recovery of vitality, the Tokugawa house would still be one of the most powerful daimyo in Japan and would not fall to the ruin of family and home.

However, to achieve such an outcome, he had to curry favor with Great Han, because the Tokugawa house was now the target of universal condemnation. Only by relying on Great Han's protection could the Tokugawa house avoid being carved up and devoured by the court and other daimyo.

With this thought in mind, ever since meeting the Great Han envoy, Tokugawa Tadanaga had been flattering him in every possible way to win his favor, repeatedly assuring him that he was absolutely different from his brother and that his house would be obedient and submissive to Great Han for generations to come.

Tokugawa Tadanaga and Ii Naotaka came together before Zhou Pu's seat. First, they saluted him with utmost trepidation, then bowed and listened to Zhou Pu's instructions.

"Although you were enemies of Great Han before, that was because you were coerced by Tokugawa Iemitsu and deceived by treacherous ministers. Now that Tokugawa Iemitsu has been executed, so long as you remain obedient and submissive to Great Han hereafter, the Celestial Dynasty will naturally make no further trouble for you." Zhou Pu once again instructed the two men. "Although the situation has initially stabilized, there are certainly still many in Kanto who harbor resentment toward you and Great Han. When you return to Edo, you must be sure to root out these petty men, lest they cause unrest!"

Unconsciously, Zhou Pu's instructions made no mention whatsoever of the Japanese court — even though their pretext for going to war with the shogunate had been to rectify Japan's governance and make the Tokugawa house respect the Japanese court.

Tokugawa Tadanaga and Ii Naotaka naturally took the hint. They repeatedly expressed that they would certainly purge those who harbored rebellious intentions against Great Han and would absolutely prevent the shogunate from causing further unrest.

Tokugawa Tadanaga was even more zealous than Ii Naotaka. Having suffered severe persecution at the hands of Tokugawa Iemitsu and the shogunate's senior councilors, he had long nursed deep-seated grudges. Moreover, he currently held little power and knew full well that many did not accept him. Therefore, he had long planned to use Great Han's blade to carry out a purge of the senior councilors, so that his own position as family head could be secure. Ii Naotaka and Doi Toshikatsu were too powerful and prestigious for him to touch for now, but he had no intention of going easy on the others. He intended to vent every grievance and settle every score upon that group.

Although Zhou Pu could not fully see through Tokugawa Tadanaga's thoughts, he could guess them with near certainty. However, Zhou Pu was happy to see this happen. The more Tokugawa Tadanaga purged the senior councilors of his house, the more he would depend on Great Han, which was also beneficial to Great Han.

"... However, do not return to Edo just yet. First, accompany me to Kyoto." Zhou Pu suddenly shifted the topic.

Why was this? Both men were somewhat puzzled and exchanged a covert glance with each other.

The imperial court today is nothing like what it once was. If they go to the capital, they will likely receive no preferential treatment. They fear even more becoming hostages in the court's hands — just as the relatives of those great feudal lords were once hostages in their own hands.

However, Zhou Pu quickly dispelled their doubts. "Your previous official posts have all been stripped by your own nation's court. Now you need to receive new appointments. Since the Tokugawa family is now under your charge, you should more or less go to the court to offer some form of apology, shouldn't you?"

"Yes... yes..." Having received Zhou Pu's explanation, Tokugawa Tadanaga immediately agreed. As long as his life was not in danger, offering an apology was no difficult matter for him.

"Furthermore... the signing of the peace treaty will also require your presence." Zhou Pu continued to explain. "When you two have an audience with His Highness the Crown Prince of our dynasty, please do not fail in proper etiquette — the consequences would be most severe otherwise!"

Both men were nearly struck dumb with shock at the same time.

"This punitive expedition against Japan was overseen from the rear by His Highness the Crown Prince of our dynasty, who commanded this campaign. Now that the hostilities have concluded, it is only natural and proper for His Highness the Crown Prince to personally visit your nation's capital." A faint smile appeared on Zhou Pu's face. "Besides, with His Highness the Crown Prince's confirmation, wouldn't the peace treaty between our two nations be all the more legitimate and beyond reproach?"