Xiao Ruxun's worries about the Tokugawa Ieyasu Group were not unreasonable, but many things would not progress as people imagined.
Tokugawa Ieyasu did not die. He took off the general's costume and put on the soldier's clothes. He followed a group of henchmen and risked his life to break out of the encirclement. After breaking out of the encirclement, he fled desperately and retreated in the direction of Nagato.
Along the way, he gathered the previous garrison soldiers and defeated soldiers. When he retreated to the Nagato Kingdom, he had gathered about 5,000 troops. However, they looked miserable. They could no longer find their previous valiant momentum.
Tokugawa Ieyasu lost the first general, Honda Tadakatsu, and the first strategist, Kuroda Rusui. It was like his right arm was cut off. He was left alone, and all his elite subordinates were dead.
There were only five thousand soldiers left, and it was hard to say if they could continue to lead the Eastern Alliance, let alone continue to fight against the Fengchen Family. With his current strength, not to mention fighting against the Fengchen Family, there was no guarantee that the traitors in the alliance would want to kill him.
Previously, they had not dared to touch him because he was the strongest, the most prestigious, and the most experienced. Thus, all the daimyos had obeyed him. However, it was worth mentioning that the most powerful of these conditions was strength, while the least useful were other things like prestige and experience. These things were all built on strength. If one was not strong enough, it would be useless no matter what they said.
The local Daimyo who had just come out of the chaos of the Warring States Period valued strength the most. They valued not only their own strength but also others. Tokugawa Ieyasu was the strongest with more than 30,000 troops, so we listened to you. But now, you only have more than 5,000 troops. You fell from the first duke to the last position in an instant. Do you still expect us, a Daimyo with 217,000 troops, to continue to follow you?
As for Tokugawa Ieyasu's Edo territory, if you still had 30,000 troops, we would still be afraid of you. But now, you have no troops. Once the news spread to Toyotomi, Toyotomi Hidetsugu, who was still afraid of you, would immediately attack the Edo territory with all his strength. At that time, the Tokugawa clan would not be able to protect their family, let alone others. Without a base, what else could you expect?
Everyone could see it, including Tokugawa Ieyasu himself. According to the original plan, after these Daimyo conquered Kyushu, they would all attack Shikoku and honshu through Nagato Kingdom to catch up with the Tokugawa army. And now, it was almost the time. The scouts sent by Tokugawa Ieyasu reported that they saw a large number of troops moving toward his place.
Tokugawa Ieyasu knew that the time to decide his fate had come. Now, no one could help him. Kuroda Rusui was dead, and the people who could help him no longer existed. The rest of the retainers were all people with more force than brain power. They could help kill the enemy, but they could not help him plan the future. Tokugawa Ieyasu could only think about it by himself, but his mind was in a mess. He really had no spare energy to continue planning.
He regretted so much that his intestines turned green. He kept taking medicine for regret. He regretted that he was so hot-headed as to start a war with the Ming army. He knew that the Fengchen family had lost so badly, but he still recklessly started a war with the Ming army. Wasn't that courting death? Now, his many years of foundation was exhausted, and his strength was greatly damaged. He, who was originally the leader of the Tokugawa Daimyo, instantly fell to the top ten. How could he have enough power to speak?
The good situation became unclear again because of the participation of the Ming Army. The collective rebellion of the Tokugawa Daimyo had cast a thick shadow over it. He could even foresee the final failure.
The road of rebellion could no longer continue. If they continued to fight, not to mention the Ming Army, even the current Toyotomi clan could wrestle with him. Maeda Toshiie's strength had not been damaged. His strength was still intact. If they really fought face to face, the Toyotomi clan might not have no chance of winning. They could still continue to struggle. Even if they did not have the strength to recover the territory that had been occupied, it was still possible to ensure a confrontation in a territory.
Tokugawa Ieyasu thought a lot, but the only thing he did not expect was the moral integrity and courage of the daimyo who had allied with him. He did not expect these guys to have so little moral integrity and courage.
After learning that Tokugawa Ieyasu's army was almost completely annihilated and only a few thousand soldiers were left, the daimyo were all shocked. They surrounded Tokugawa Ieyasu and asked all sorts of questions. They asked him why the Ming Army would suddenly abandon the alliance and attack him. Did he offend the Ming Army in some way and cause everyone to suffer together?
Everyone's private territory was to the east of Jingdou. Although the Toyotomi Army had basically been annihilated and had no power to threaten them, if they were also basically annihilated, the Toyotomi Army would have time to nibble their territory bit by bit. When they came, they had basically taken all the elite troops and powerful retainers with them. There were only a few elites and a large number of old, weak, sick and disabled people left at home. If they really fought, they would not be able to hold out.
If Toyotomi Hidetsugu and Maeda Toshiie put together, they should be able to gather at least seventy to eighty thousand troops, right? Even if they used the human wave tactic, they could still overwhelm them!
Tokugawa Ieyasu was physically and mentally exhausted. However, his lack of confidence made him unable to make an effective rebuttal. He could only helplessly explain that the Ming Army was too much. They wanted ten million liang of silver and the entire Ishiami Country. This meant that the entire Ishiami Silver Mountain would be taken away by the Ming Army. None of them would get a single cent!
The daimyo looked at each other and began to calculate the gains and losses of their own interests.
According to common sense, if Tokugawa Ieyasu established a stable rule, then would they be able to get the silver from the Ishiami Silver Mountain?
The answer was no. Such a large silver mountain, such a large amount of silver, the central government would definitely keep it in their own hands instead of sharing it with the enemy. Everyone was now an ally. When the time came, it was uncertain whether they would be political enemies. How could they still share the benefits of the Ishiami Silver Mountain? They could not get it in the first place. They did not have it now, and they might not have it in the future. People like Toyotomi Hideyoshi could not give face to the Maori family and could control the silver mountain, let alone others.
Wasn't that the reason why Tokugawa Ieyasu, the old fox, was so anxious to grab the silver mountain?
Therefore, some people ridiculed Tokugawa Ieyasu in a strange way.
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