***
Okiko's disappearance caused a great shock in Kyoto. Masahito, who had just successfully restored the throne, sent people to look for her everywhere, but Okiko seemed to have disappeared out of thin air.
At that time, Japan was in a turbulent period. Compared with the overall situation, Okiko's disappearance seemed less important, so Masahito did not actually spend much effort looking for Okiko.
He began to organize forces and purge the officials planted by the Tokugawa shogunate in the Kyoto court. At the same time, he actively sent people to Sekigahara to convey his order, requiring the "Sekigahara Shogun" to come to the capital to meet the emperor through Imasetsu.
However, Masahito did not realize that the current turbulent situation in Japan might seem like a good opportunity for him to take back the military and political power, but in reality, all of this chaos was actually controlled by an invisible giant hand.
It’s just that this hand is too big, so big that you can’t see its existence, but when it tightens, you are powerless to struggle and have nowhere to escape.
In Edo, with the participation of the Qin army, the rebellion of the Musashi and Shimotsuke Sanfan was declared put down in just six days. This move allowed the Tokugawa shogunate, which was almost on the brink of collapse, to regain a lot of prestige.
Some daimyos of the feudal states had already intended to defect, but with the rapid suppression of the Three Feudatories Rebellion, it was like a bucket of cold water was poured over these daimyos. Some of them who were good at changing their stance according to the situation took the initiative to send troops to help the Tokugawa shogunate fight without the shogunate's orders, and the situation suddenly became favorable to the shogunate.
In order to stabilize the shaky situation, Sakai Tadakatsu and others agreed to lease 60 miles of land around Yokosuka to the Qin State for port construction and garrison. It was a helpless move forced by the situation. They were not fools and knew what it meant.
Especially in the process of suppressing the Rebellion of the Three Feudatories, the weapons used by the Qin army were so powerful that they were simply terrifying.
With such powerful weapons in hand, even if the Qin army only stationed two or three hundred troops in Yokosuka, it would be enough to strangle the gate of Edo Castle and pose a strong threat to the Tokugawa Shogunate.
Hoshina Masayuki, Sakai Tadakatsu, Matsudaira Nobunaga, and Matsudaira Norihisa had an urgent discussion on the matter, but they could not come up with any good solution.
The situation had just improved, and the shogunate still relied on Qin's support. If it broke the agreement immediately, the consequences would be something the Tokugawa shogunate could not bear.
But they all knew that if they did not redeem Yokosuka before Qin started building the port, the Tokugawa shogunate would be forever in the hands of Qin.
After much discussion, they decided that it would not work if they forced it. Finally, they gritted their teeth and decided to take out one million taels of silver to redeem the land of Yokosuka from the Qin State.
Sakai Tadakatsu felt obliged to do so and personally went to the Qin Embassy in Edo to discuss the matter with Wei Zhengdao.
Wei Zhengdao, who was always gentle and polite, could not help but slam his palm on the table, making the teacups on the table jump around, when he heard Sakai Tadakatsu state his purpose.
Then he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and when he opened his eyes again, the expression on his face had calmed down.
But the palm strike just now had already made Sakai Tadakatsu's heart tighten. He didn't think that things would turn around just because Wei Zhengdao suppressed his anger.
"Master. Can I still trust you and the Tokugawa Shogunate?"
"Ambassador Wei, why do you say that? I came here not to break my promise, but to discuss something with Ambassador Wei. I hope you can make some adjustments. We are willing to pay 500,000 silver coins as compensation..."
"Master. If the reputation of the Tokugawa shogunate is only worth 500,000 taels of silver, don't you think this is a very sad thing?"
Sakai Tadakatsu was very embarrassed. Wei Zhengdao's words, though sounding gentle and elegant at first, were like a slap in the face, leaving him feeling hot and tingling.
At the same time, Wei Zhengdao also cleverly blocked his possibility of bargaining, because no matter whether you offer 500,000 taels or 1 million taels, your credibility can be measured with money.
"I think you must have read Zhuangzi. In the chapter about Robber Zhi, it says: Wei Sheng made an appointment with a girl under a beam, but she didn't come. When the water came, she didn't go away. So she hugged the beam and died."
After listening to this, Sakai Tadakatsu stopped talking about Yokosuka Port, stood up, bowed to Wei Zhengdao and said, "Excuse me, Ambassador Wei, please forgive me."
Strictly speaking, when the agreement was signed, Qin did not force him, nor did it force the Tokugawa shogunate. This was a decision made by the shogunate after careful discussion.
The ink on the agreement is not yet dry, and the situation has improved because of the Qin army's participation in the war. Now that Wei Zhengdao's attitude is known, what else can Sakai Tadakatsu say
***
The one hundred Marines led by Captain Zhang Feng have become a little nervous since returning from their exploration of the interior of South China Continent. Some of them even want to go back to Daqin, which gives Wang Guichen a headache and worries.
According to Zhang Feng and others, after they entered the inland, they saw all kinds of strange things along the way, such as dozens of antelopes collectively jumping off a cliff and dying.
There are also beautiful things, like seeing millions of butterflies covering the entire mountain, flying all over the sky, and collectively changing into various shapes.
On a horseshoe-shaped mountain, bursts of ghost cries were heard at night. Zhang Feng and his companions were brave enough to go up and look for it, but they found nothing.
What ultimately made Zhang Feng and the other 100 people go crazy was a kind of cloud. When talking about this cloud, Zhang Feng and the others' pupils would dilate unconsciously.
This is a huge tubular cloud, which looks like a bunch of tubes or the body of a giant dragon. They are very, very long, so long that you can't see the end of them. There are six of them in total, arranged very neatly, secretly and strangely, rolling together in the sky. The scene is thrilling.
You can't see what's inside the thick clouds, but Zhang Feng and others believe that there is something hidden in the tubular clouds. They are constantly rolling and pressing over your head, moving as fast as a galloping horse.
How long is it... Zhang Feng and his friends really don't know how long it is, because they are standing on the top of the mountain, holding a telescope, but they can't see the end of the tube cloud on both sides.
That means the monster hidden in this cloud of tubes is extremely long, and just thinking about it makes people terrified.
This matter could not be false. There were a total of one hundred people including Zhang Feng, and they spoke with certainty. Everyone's statement was basically the same, which made all the Qin soldiers a little scared.
No matter how powerful the enemy is, they will not be afraid. However, facing this strange phenomenon that is beyond their cognition, everyone feels powerless and frightened.
That day, Mo Liang was asking Zhang Feng about this again. He lowered his voice unconsciously, as if he was afraid that the ghosts would hear him: "Old Zhang, why didn't you shoot at that time? If you had fired a few shots, maybe you could have seen what Guan Yunli was like."
Zhang Feng shook his head and said, "You didn't see it, you don't know, it's too hard to believe. If it were you, would you dare to shoot?"
Mo Liang thought, maybe, if it was him... Just as he thought of this, he suddenly felt a pain in his butt, and his whole body flew out, falling flat on his face.
He was about to open his mouth to curse, but he heard Wang Guichen's angry roar from behind: "Fuck it, if anyone dares to talk about this again, I will kill him! It's just a few clouds, damn it, a grown man, he is not afraid of death, so why are you afraid of a few clouds!"
Wu Yue, the deputy chief, hurried over, pulled the furious Wang Guichen aside and said, "Old Wang, getting angry like this is not a solution. Look at everyone. They are in this state. If this continues, they will probably want to go back."
Wang Guichen's inverted eyebrows twitched. If he was really scared by a few Guan Yuns and ran back, how could he face people in the future? But no matter how hard you tried to explain this matter, the soldiers still had a shadow in their hearts. Everyone felt like a big stone was pressing on their hearts.
"Old Wu, you are a scholar, what can you do?"
Isn’t this nonsense? If there was a way, Wu Yue would have thought of it a long time ago.
Looking at the natives working hard to move stones on the dock, Wu Yue suddenly had an idea and said, "Old Wang, we can find a few natives to ask if they have seen this strange thing before. If they have, then it will be easy to deal with."
"How come it's easy?"
"Old Wang, are you also scared silly? If the natives have also seen this strange thing and are still alive and well, then why should we be afraid of it?"
"Yes, yes, yes, let's go ask, but we don't speak the same language, so it's hard to get the answer. Old Wu, draw the monster so the natives can see it more clearly and avoid making mistakes."
"Okay, I'll go draw it now."
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ps: Here is the second update. Don't worry, I have already received 100 votes this month, and I owe you another chapter. I know this, please give me two days. I am very tired now, and the quality of the chapters I force myself to write is not satisfactory, which would be unfair to everyone. I am working hard, so please don't stop voting for me. I beg for your votes!
.(To be continued..)
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