The Kanto Plain is the largest of Japan's three plains, but it is the latest to be developed.

Originally a wasteland, the Tokugawa family developed the Kanto Plain on a large scale after it became a fiefdom of the Tokugawa clan decades ago, and after Tokugawa Ieyasu established the Tokugawa shogunate, Edo in the Kanto Plain was designated as the de facto capital (Kyoto, where the emperor lived, was nominally).

Since then, the Kanto Plain has become the political and economic center of Japan, with less than 5 percent of the land area and one-third of the population.

The sky was overcast, the river fog shook on the surface of Wuchuan, and the shallows were covered with dense reeds, gently swaying in the morning breeze, making bursts of rustling sounds.

Along the way, the roads were congested and filled with dust and smoke, and troops stationed in various places were constantly heading westward, some by boat, and some on foot along the river.

The Japanese people along the way looked at the hurried shogunate troops with numb expressions, not knowing where the front line was going to fight again.

When the last requisitioned civilian ship filled the shogunate army and headed west, a Japanese soldier wearing a tattered ashigaru uniform emerged from the dense reeds, and he looked at the sailing ship in the distance in a panic, and quickly bowed his head and fled eastward.

The Japanese ashigaru, named Akira Yoshizawa, is not the first time he has been a deserter.

Four days earlier, he had managed to escape all the way back to the Kanto Plain from Kyoto, but he was unlucky enough to be caught by a passing shogunate and forced to continue to let him join the army and go to the front, or else he would be beheaded on the spot.

The battle with the Ming army, Yoshizawa Bright will never forget, it is an invincible army, and fighting them is purely death!

Moreover, his current status is only a ashigaru, that is, the lowest infantry in Japan, who is usually engaged in labor, and becomes a foot soldier as cannon fodder to catch bullets during wartime.

Without any hesitation, Yoshizawa Bright relied on his rich escape experience to easily level the troops and return to freedom.

In order to avoid being caught again, he immediately took off his dogskin military uniform and blended in with the people.

Along the way, Yoshizawa looked at the people around him with numb expressions, and sighed secretly in his heart.

In the hearts of the people, it doesn't matter where they want to fight or who they fight with.

Fighting a war is the business of the shogunate daimyos, and their daimyo can fight whoever they want, whether they win or lose, it is the business of the daimyo and has nothing to do with the common people.

As long as it doesn't hit the heads of the little people, the people can eat when they should eat, sleep when they should sleep, and pay food when they should pay food.

Anyway, no matter which daimyo became the general of the expedition and held the authority of Japan, didn't the people have to pay grain?

The people of Japan only have the concept of subjects, not the concept of citizens!

In Daming, Yoshizawa heard that every time the Ming Emperor issued a war mobilization order, the whole country would be excited!

Both the court officials and the common people were all involved in a vigorous pre-war mobilization, and even ordinary people felt enthusiastic and wanted to donate their savings accumulated over the years to the state.

Although Yoshizawa Bright has not read for a few years, he also knows that a country has such cohesion that it is unmatched!

He knew that the Tokugawa shogunate raised a large army to the west to fight against the Ming army, and they were afraid that they would not return.

In this battle, the shogunate will be defeated!

What Yoshizawa Bright has to do now is to escape as soon as possible and run to the rear of the Kanto Plain to save his life.

In troubled times, human life is as cheap as grass, and it is important to protect oneself, even if you surrender to the enemy, you will be used as cannon fodder by the enemy, and the day is not safe.

The vast Kanto Plain stretches out in front of you, and Yoshizawa is bright and far away, surrounded by artemisia grass, and it is quiet.

He walked on the road for several days and nights, and all the villages he saw along the way were empty, and sometimes there was not a single living person for hundreds of miles.

At this time, he suddenly realized that when the troubled times came, the first people to suffer were ordinary people!

In the land of Pingchuan, there is no terrain to protect themselves, bandits are everywhere, and there are ** villains in the past, all of which threaten the lives of local people, and some people who are afraid have fled and become homeless.

Yoshizawa managed to reach the Mito Domain, which was densely farmlanded, peaceful, and war-free, and he planned to live here permanently.

According to his plan, this place was 200 miles farther than Edo Castle, and even if the Ming army came, it would attack Edo and would not hit the Mito Domain.

The Mito Domain was close to the east coast of Japan and did not have any large ports, but Yoshizawa had a distinct sense that it was prosperous, with farmers busy farming and merchants on the streets busy with their own businesses.

From time to time, hordes of caravans arrived in the town of Mito Castle, stationed outside the warehouse at the West Gate, and there were many caravans with the Tokugawa clan's golden clover coat of arms.

Although it was not peaceful along the way, few bandits dared to make a move against the Tokugawa family's caravan, and even if there were some guys who were not long-sighted, they could not stop the force of the Mito Domain.

Twenty years ago, Yoribo, the lord of the Mito Domain, was given the surname "Tokugawa" by the Shogunate and officially became the Mito Tokugawa clan.

The force of the Mito Domain can be said to be the most powerful existence among the daimyos, and no one dares to provoke it.

Walking into Mito Castle, Yoshizawa found that there were recruitment notices posted in many places in the city, and there were one or two people in Ashigaru beating gongs and drums next to him.

"All the people participated, enthusiastically joined the army, fought against the Ming Kou, and made contributions to the country!"

These two ashigaru are wearing a stiff cotton armor, plus an iron helmet, and a waist knife, which is very powerful, and there are many models, giving people a feeling of joining the shogunate army.

However, despite the two fancy-dressed ashigaru pulling people hard, only a few people were inspired by the shogunate to join the army, and most of them came to watch.

Ashigaru pointed to a young man in the crowd like a pimp, and said, "Young man, I see that you are young and strong, why don't you join the army to serve the country?" ”

The young man was so frightened that he retreated again and again, and said, "What about this...... Life is still very precious......"

After saying that, he immediately turned around and left, lest he be arrested and taken as a strong man.

The ashigaru sighed, he was not sad for the young man's words, but sorry that this was in the city, and if he was in the suburbs, he would have to arrest this young man to the barracks!

These days, it's not easy to find such a strong cannon fodder!

Yoshizawa Bright also subconsciously hid behind the old lady in the crowd, worried about being caught by those two ashigaru.

Next to the notice, Ashigaru continued to beat the gong and read out the contents of the notice.

To Yoshizawa's surprise, these notices were issued jointly in the name of Emperor Yoshihito and the Shogun Seiyi.

He learned from the front-line commanders that His Majesty the Emperor Yoshihito had died, and he heard that he had committed suicide, so how could he still issue an edict?

It seems that the shogunate never made the truth public, they did not trust their own people, and they did not trust their soldiers!

Sighing secretly, Yoshizawa Bright slowly retreated from the crowd and came to the crowded commercial street to buy something to eat.

After running for days, his chest was pressed against his back when he was already hungry.