Kyoto, the Imperial Palace, is pale in the east, and the sun is shining weakly on the waning cherry blossom trees from the corners of the palace.

Elder Sakai Tadakatsu walked with tired steps in the Imperial Corridor leading to the Emperor's residence.

On both sides of the corridor, there are two rows of heavily armed Imperial Palace guards, who are not there to protect the emperor, but to monitor the emperor.

It was clear to the entire shogunate that Emperor Yoshihito was just an ornament, and the main purpose of this ornament was to show the world the legitimacy of the shogunate and the legitimacy of its laws.

Sakai Tadakatsu's eyes were red, he had just spent a night that had left him physically and mentally exhausted, not physically exhausted, but psychological.

Osaka was lost, Takajo was lost, and tens of thousands of shogunate troops became the sword of the Ming army.

Although intelligence shows that yesterday Abe Tadaaki fought a beautiful siege and annihilation battle in Nagaokakyo, but still did not stop the pace of the Ming army, they raided the Japanese camp in Nagaokakyo overnight, 20,000 Japanese officers and soldiers were killed, and Abe Tadaaki led the remnants to transfer to full defense.

Sakai Tadakatsu knew that Kyoto could not be defended, because the shogunate's forces in Kansai were basically filled, and he had to retreat to the Kanto Plain with the emperor.

According to the schedule, the shogunate and the emperor will hold a meeting this morning, which will be attended by senior shogunate officials and military daimyo in Kyoto.

In the corridor, the guards of the Imperial Palace on both sides remained silent, and only the footsteps of Tadashi Sakai echoed eeriely in the corridor.

"Your Excellency, the general of Zhengyi has arrived."

In front of the gate of the Imperial Palace, a Japanese man with a scar on his face bowed to Sakai Tadakatsu.

This Japanese was Taro Yamamoto, the intelligence chief of the Tokugawa shogunate, and in order to deal with the Ming Jinyiwei, the shogunate established a new intelligence department, which set up several intelligence agencies such as the secret service department.

Their mission was to maintain the stability of the Tokugawa shogunate, to monitor the emperor and the shogunate as a whole, and to eradicate all dissidents who were detrimental to the interests of the shogunate.

At the same time, the Secret Service Division is also specifically responsible for fighting against Nishikiwei, and has made a lot of progress, such as destroying some of the intelligence networks of Nishikiwei in Kyoto, which is the handiwork of Taro Yamamoto.

Sakai Tadakatsu said, "Is the emperor invited?" ”

Taro Yamamoto replied, "It's already here." ”

Sakai Tadakatsu nodded slightly, and walked into the main hall of the imperial palace.

All the shogunate officials had arrived half an hour earlier, and Emperor Yoshihito sat there on his knees, quietly waiting for Sakai Tadakatsu's arrival.

Sakai Tadakatsu was deliberately late and made everyone, including the emperor, wait for half an hour, first, to let everyone know who was the supreme ruler of Japan, and second, to see who had ideas.

In the main hall, there was silence.

The Japanese Emperor Yoshihito sat listlessly on his knees due north, flanked by Tokugawa Ietsuna, the shogunate's shogun, and flanked by a group of shogunate officials with solemn expressions.

At this time, they faced the temple gate and gave Sakai Tadakatsu a respectful gaze.

It is one of the few in the entire history of Japan for both the emperor and the shogun to be greeted like his grandson, but Sakai Tadashi did not feel a trace of satisfaction.

He knew that the young man in front of him (Emperor Yoshihito), like his brother Emperor Shohito, was very restless and very good at acting.

Sakai Tadakatsu also knew that deep down in the heart of Emperor Yoshihito, he was actually full of hatred for him, the elder of the shogunate, after all, he sent someone to kill his brother.

Recently, Yoshihito's attitude towards the shogunate was closely related to the performance of the Ming army on the battlefield, and the Ming army's offensive was like a bamboo, which made him begin to be restless.

Although the shogunate tightly sealed the news that the Ming army was about to enter Kyoto, Sakai Tadakatsu knew that paper could not contain fire, and the news would reach the Imperial Palace sooner or later.

Moreover, according to the intelligence of the Secret Service Division, the royalists led by Yoshihito have been secretly dealing with the Ming people for a long time, and they are likely to take advantage of the chaos in Kyoto to flee with the emperor and defect to the Ming Emperor.

Once the emperor is gone, the shogunate loses its legitimacy and will have a huge impact on the stability of Japan.

Sakai Tadakatsu could not afford to lose, and neither could the Tokugawa shogunate, so in order to prevent trouble, he held this meeting in the name of the emperor and the shogun, and all high-ranking officials from the emperor and the shogun to the shogun must be present.

Sakai Tadakatsu had ordered his cronies to surreptitiously surround the Imperial Palace, and the Secret Service Division had all dispatched to take over the defense of the Imperial Palace to prevent any accidents before evacuation.

Sakai Tadashi knew that such a method would cause some people to be dissatisfied, but in this special period, the Ming army had already called, and he had no other remedy.

When Sakai Tadakatsu stepped into the main hall with one foot, Tokugawa Ietsuna, the shogun of Seiyi, hurriedly stood up, bowed to him, and invited him to take a seat.

Sakai Tadashi nodded secretly, although General Seiyi was a mentally handicapped boy, he knew how to measure things very well, and he knew even better than this seemingly smart emperor.

He turned his head to look at Emperor Liangren and said, "Your Majesty, I heard that you were in poor health last night, how are you doing now?" ”

Liangren is thin and weak, and looks like a weak scholar, not the king of a country.

He coughed and said, "I occasionally felt a chill last night, had a fever and cough, and after asking the imperial doctor to see it, I took a side Chinese medicine, and now I am much better." ”

"That's good."

Sakai Tadakatsu took a big stride, walked to Yoshihito's side, and sat down cross-legged, on an equal footing with the emperor.

Ryohito bowed his head slightly, his eyes drooped, and his hands hidden in his wide-sleeved robe turned white, the behavior of this subordinate was tantamount to humiliating the emperor's profession!

Sakai Tadakatsu's afterglow saw the young emperor's expression, but he didn't care, and began to talk to the shogunate officials about moving the capital.

Speaking of moving the capital, Sakai Tadakatsu's face was a little unpleasant.

Half a year ago, he advocated that the shogunate move from Edo to Kyoto, and now he wants to move away, which is a bit of a slap in the face.

The expressions of the shogunate officials present were different, some were helpless, and some secretly criticized the old man for tossing and turning, and the scene began to be eager, and everyone expressed their opinions one after another.

After a long time, the hall that was a little chaotic suddenly remembered a sonorous and powerful voice: "I don't agree to move the capital!" ”

Sakai Tadakatsu glanced at the emperor beside him and said coldly: "Your Majesty the Emperor, it's a good thing to move the capital!" ”

Emperor Ryohito smiled bitterly, stood up and faced the ministers of civil and military affairs, and said: "Nine hundred years ago, my ancestor Emperor Huanmu moved the capital here, and Kyoto has always been the capital of Japan. ”

Seeing that this kid went crazy, Sakai Tadakatsu was furious and said, "Your Majesty, please pay attention to your words!" ”

The Japanese officials in the hall did not say a word, and turned their eyes to the two above, they did not understand, how could the emperor, who was lazy in the past, suddenly seem to be a different person, and actually raised the bar with the elder in public?