On July 28, the weather was still very hot, and the cry of cicadas dominated the entire castle. In the castle tower on Osaka Castle, Zhong Feng sat on a chair and looked at Tokugawa who was kneeling on the ground playfully.
The elder of the family.
The only elder of the Tokugawa family, Doi Toshikatsu, knelt on the tatami in front of Zhong Feng with a humble expression.
Doi Toshikatsu led three attendants to Osaka Castle in person this time, and they obviously had an important mission. Although the three attendants were followers, they were all middle-aged, and judging from their clothing, they seemed to be important ministers of the Tokugawa family.
Obviously, this time, Doi Toshikatsu brought all the important figures from his faction in the Tokugawa family.
The eldest son of the Tokugawa family looked at the joking eyes around him, took a breath, and the expression on his face became more determined.
While lying on the ground without raising his head, he said: "Your Majesty, Chief Military Officer! Japan has decided to surrender to the Prince of Tianjin!"
At this time, the news of Li Zhi's defeat of the Jiangbei Army in Huai'an had reached Japan. Coupled with the previous destruction of the Anglo-Dutch fleet, the Tokugawa family suddenly lost all their allies. Of course, the Tokugawa shogunate did not have the confidence to fight against Li Zhi independently.
Therefore, he chose to surrender without any doubt.
The Tokugawa shogunate was very sincere in surrendering, and as soon as Doi Toshiki came up, he took action directly.
A middle-aged samurai next to Doi Toishi climbed up from the tatami, carefully moved forward a few steps, and handed the letter of surrender from the Tokugawa Shogunate into the hands of a soldier.
The soldiers took the letter of surrender and handed it to Jiang Chong.
The letter of surrender was wrapped in a layer of white paper, with the words "To Zhong Fengdian, Chief Military Officer of Liaodong" written in Chinese characters.
I have to admit that Japanese people are pretty good at writing Chinese characters.
Zhong Feng was too lazy to read the letter and raised his chin towards Jiang Chong. Jiang Chong looked at Doi Risheng's pale face, flicked the envelope and opened the letter.
Seeing that Zhong Feng, the division commander of the Huben Army, did not even look at the surrender letter he handed over, Doi Toshi's face turned even paler and he lowered his head and prostrated on the ground.
Jiang Chong opened the letter and read it.
The letter was written entirely in Chinese characters and was signed by Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu. This was a handwritten letter of surrender from the leader of the Japanese samurai.
Jiang Chong looked at it for a while, then smiled and said to Zhong Feng: "The Tokugawa family said they are willing to compensate us 20 million taels of silver. Please forgive the Tokugawa family."
Zhong Feng sneered and asked Doi Toshikatsu: "As far as I know, the Tokugawa family is actually led by you Doi Toshikatsu now?"
"Ahem!" Doi Toshikatsu knelt on the ground to answer, but when he spoke, he found that his voice was very hoarse. He cleared his throat before replying: "Come back to General, General, before I set off this time, I returned power to General Tokugawa.
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Zhong Feng smiled and said: "Your decision to rebel against the prince has caused the Tokugawa family to face disaster. Naturally, you have to return power to Tokugawa Iemitsu."
When Doi Toshikatsu heard this, there was no reaction on his face. Apparently, Doi Toshiki had completely accepted the matter of being seized of power by General Tokugawa.
Zhong Feng smiled and said: "As far as I know, the shogunate army is preparing to completely annihilate the defenders of Osaka City with all its elite troops this time! How strong are you when you attacked North Korea and even invaded Tianjin?"
Hearing Zhong Feng's teasing, the Japanese on the ground prostrate themselves on the ground, not daring to express their anger.
Zhong Feng's expression changed and he shouted: "We are not going to forgive the Japanese this time. Let alone 20 million, even if it is 40 million, we will not let you go."
The four Japanese samurai on the ground turned pale.
Does Zhong Feng mean to destroy Japan? Is Japan's history of not destroying a country for more than a thousand years coming to an end? Is the Tokugawa family going to completely collapse?
Doi Toshikatsu took a step forward, still lying on the tatami, and shouted loudly: "General, please forgive Japan! Give the Tokugawa family a way to survive!"
Zhong Feng said coldly: "That's impossible."
Doi Toshikatsu straightened up and said: "The Tokugawa shogunate is willing to become a vassal state of Tianjin County Prince and pay three million guan in taxes to Tianjin County Prince every year."
Hearing Doi Toshi's words, Zhong Feng smiled.
Three million guan per year is not a small number. It is a net income that does not require any investment. Li Zhi avoids the expense of supporting a large number of civil servants and can support his troops with 3 million guan every year.
For Japan, being able to preserve the integrity of the country and survive as a vassal state is undoubtedly an acceptable outcome.
But today's situation can no longer be solved by becoming a vassal of Japan. If Japan is not destroyed, it will not be enough to reflect Li Zhi's anger towards Japan's rebellion.
Zhong Feng said lightly: "That's impossible."
Hearing Zhong Feng's words, the bodies of the four important shogunate officials on the ground shook suddenly.
Doi Toshikatsu, who was kneeling on the ground, was silent for a while, then suddenly straightened up his upper body. Under the surprised eyes of everyone, he took out a short knife hidden there from his sleeve.
Zhong Feng was just a division commander. He didn't expect someone to assassinate him, so he didn't pay much attention to security facilities. Doi Toshikatsu tied a short knife to his wrist, but he deceived the soldiers who searched him.
The soldiers around Zhong Feng were startled, thinking that Doi Toshiki was going to attack Zhong Feng. The steel knife was pulled out with a whoosh, and the guards jumped in front of the chief soldier.
However, after Doi Toshiki pulled out the short sword, he did not rush towards Zhong Feng, but tore off his samurai uniform.
As soon as his eyes were closed, Doi Toishi stabbed himself in the stomach.
Blood sputtered out instantly.
"Doi Toshikatsu is willing to take full responsibility for this war! Please forgive Japan, General!"
With a pull of his right hand holding the knife, Doi Toshikatsu actually cut open his own abdomen alive. Blood gushed out like an open faucet.
Doi Toshi unexpectedly wanted to have a disembowelment in front of Zhong Feng.
Zhong Feng was startled by Doi Toshi's action and his eyes widened. This was the first time he saw someone cutting his own stomach.
Doi Toshiki continued to bleed, and gradually he couldn't kneel anymore. He fell forward and lay on the ground unable to move.
Doi Toshikatsu, the patriarch of the Tokugawa family who actually ruled Japan for five and a half years, ended his life in the cruelest ceremony.
This bloody method of suicide made everyone in the castle tower turn pale. This method of suicide has never been seen outside of Japan.
The three senior samurai behind Doi Toshikatsu did not go up to save their elder. Instead, they violently grabbed the ground with their heads and shouted: "General, please forgive Japan!"
Doi Toshiki lost too much blood and gradually died.
Zhong Feng looked at this bloody scene, swallowed his saliva, gradually calmed down, and said loudly:
"Japan's sins cannot be made up for by Doi Toshikatsu. You betrayed the prince and once wanted to attack Tianjin. Now it is not possible to make up for this unforgivable mistake with just one life!"
When the three Tokugawa ministers heard this, they jerked their samurai uniforms and seemed to be preparing to have their caesareans performed.
Zhong Feng waved his hand and asked his soldiers to go up and control the three warriors.
"If you want to commit suicide, go back to Edo and commit suicide!"
"Go back and tell Tokugawa Iemitsu that Japan will only end up being destroyed, and His Royal Highness the Prince of Tianjin will not accept his surrender."
