Edo Castle, the Shogun's Mansion.

During this time, Matsudaira Nobutsuna, who was in charge of the overall situation of the shogunate in Edo, was exhausted and his mental state almost collapsed.

The shogunate army was defeated in Sekigahara, and the army of more than 200,000 people was almost wiped out, either captured or scattered, and few returned, even the elder Sakai Tadakatsu was captured by the Ming army and sent to the Ming Dynasty.

When the news came, Edo was shocked, and no one expected that the defeat would come so quickly and the shogunate army would be defeated so badly.

Now that the Sendai Domain had announced its downfall, tens of thousands of troops had gathered to invade Edo, and there were still naval warships of the Ming army cruising around Edo Bay, firing artillery demonstrations at Edo Castle from time to time, causing panic in the city.

At this point, Matsudaira Nobutsuna was also out of the question, he was a civilian official in charge of the work of the shogunate, and he knew almost nothing about the war, and it was impossible to fight against the Ming army that was advancing eastward.

The officials of the shogunate were even more at a loss, except for a few stunned young people who shouted that the jade of the whole city was broken, and the rest were all staring at each other in a state of waiting for death.

Because of too much pressure, Matsudaira Nobutsuna once wanted to commit suicide by caesarean section, but when he thought of his wife, he was reluctant to ......

At this time, someone suggested that the shogunate take the initiative to surrender to the Ming army, and maybe he could also mix a half-official position in the new dynasty, which gave Matsudaira Nobutsuna an idea.

He was a little hesitant at first, but when he got the news, he immediately agreed to the offer to surrender.

According to the latest information sent by the personnel of Japan's special service department in Liaodong in the Ming Dynasty, the 50,000 troops of the Northern Army Governor's Office stationed in Beizhili and Shandong suddenly moved to the Korean Peninsula half a month ago, and the 50,000 troops stationed on the Korean Peninsula all went south and landed in Japan.

Matsudaira Nobutsuna judged that the change of guard and the transfer of the Ming army was in preparation for the division of the large army, and they wanted to ensure that they would be stationed in Japan for a long time and rule Japan.

And the premise of ruling Japan is to occupy Edo and overthrow the shogunate!

Therefore, Matsudaira Nobutsuna despaired, deeply aware that there was no hope for the Tokugawa shogunate, and all he could do was choose to surrender unconditionally!

On November 12, upon learning of the Ming army's sea route and advance into Edo, Matsudaira Nobutsuna officially informed the Ming army stationed in Edo Bay that he would surrender to the Ming on behalf of the Tokugawa shogunate.

This behavior made many Japanese people blow up, and some middle and lower-class samurai accused Matsudaira Tsunataka of being cowardly and betraying the country to seek glory, and sternly demanded that the shogunate fight to the death with the Ming army.

Tokugawa Tsunashige and other daimyo who participated in the Battle of Sekigahara fully supported the surrender, and they had learned the power of the Ming army on the battlefield, and they knew very well that this battle could not be fought, and if they continued to fight, they might die.

The shogunate's stalwart samurai were so disappointed by the shogunate's inaction that they gathered in a corner of Edo and took the initiative to go out of the castle to attack the Ming army's Yokosuka camp.

The war came abruptly and ended quickly.

This group of samurai who were not afraid of death, shouting the slogan of loyalty to the shogunate, one after another filled in their lives, one after another fell under the guns of the Ming army, the whole battle was less than two quarters of an hour, the samurai lost more than half, the rest were captured, and the Ming army was unscathed.

However, these fanatical warriors were not honest when they were prisoners, and they repeatedly rushed and injured the Ming army guarding them, and they were not angry.

The Ming commander of the Yokosuka Battalion, Takabang, came to the prisoner of war camp and ordered the more than 300 captives to be lined up in three columns and kneeling under Edo Castle to make them repent and confess their sins.

The samurai did not comply, and the old general Gao Bang personally killed the three people who jumped the most, and trampled a samurai surnamed Tokugawa on the soles of his feet, and shouted angrily: "Say! You are the defeated army, the prisoners of the Ming army, and you must repay the gift of the Ming Dynasty with labor reform! ”

The Tokugawa samurai grinned when he was stepped on, blushing and scolding and refusing to cooperate.

Gao Bang sneered and stomped his face flat, causing him to hang on the high pole and keep shooting.

The actions of the Ming army outside the castle attracted the attention of the shogunate, and Matsudaira Nobutsuna and a cadre of officials came to the castle tower to watch this scene.

Subsequently, the Ming army pulled a golden shamrock family emblem flag of the Tokugawa clan and placed it on the ground, causing the captured fanatical samurai to trample on the flag and attack their faith.

The samurai were indignant and disobeyed, and the old general killed one person in one step, slaughtering more than ten people in a row.

"Those who step on it live, and those who refuse die!"

The muzzle of the Ming army's black hole hole was pointed at more than 300 Japanese samurai, mercilessly scolding.

In the choice between life and death, more than 200 samurai finally moved tearfully and slowly walked past the Tokugawa clan's family crest flag.

The corners of Gao Bang's mouth showed a mockery, and said: "The warrior spirit of bullshit, Lao Tzu has been fighting with His Majesty for so many years, and he has never seen an enemy of Toutie!" Keep them repentant and shout slogans! ”

There was silence on the castle tower, and the onlookers of the shogunate officials looked ugly, but they did not dare to be angry, and the more high-ranking officials were, the more afraid they were of death, and they were afraid of being liquidated by the Ming army afterwards.

Matsudaira Nobutsuna's heart was dripping blood, and he sighed helplessly, because the next picture completely shattered his heart.

Under Edo Castle, the samurai, who had been enthusiastic and clamoring for a decisive battle with the Ming army, knelt neatly at this time, shouting slogans.

"We are the defeated army, we are prisoners of war of the Ming army! We are going to use the labor camp to beat the gift of the Ming Dynasty! ”

"The Ming army is mighty, long live the Ming Dynasty!"

"Learn Chinese culture and abandon the journey of birds and beasts!"

......

This sudden incident strengthened the determination of the shogunate officials in Edo to surrender.

The next day, Matsudaira Nobutsuna and Tokugawa Tsunashige, on behalf of the Tokugawa shogunate, led shogunate officials and 50,000 defenders out of the castle and surrendered to the 3,000 Ming troops of the Yokosuka camp.

This event marked the official end of the Tokugawa shogunate period, which had ruled Japan for fifty years.

On November 15, near dusk, Zhu Cihong arrived in Edo with a sea army.

Matsudaira Nobutsuna had already advanced an hour in advance, leading the shogunate clan, officials and other cadres to wait outside the city to welcome the Ming Emperor.

He was very well prepared, and there were no less gongs, drums, and flags.

Outside the city, the Ming soldiers and horses covered the sky and the sun, and they marched in an orderly manner, and they were majestic and high-spirited in the sound of drums.

Seeing this scene, the long-awaited shogunate officials became more respectful.

The Ming army was in Japan like a sky, and it was shocked as a heavenly army, and no one dared to use its edge, it can be said that it was an order to Japan, and it dared not obey!

Matsudaira Nobutsuna had a different understanding of this army, and he drew a conclusion from various sources of information in the past and what he saw with his own eyes today.

This army has everything that a strong army in the world should have, and everything that it does not have: national faith, battlefield discipline, intelligence system, weaponry, and logistics support system.

However, in the bones of this army, there is a group of wild beasts!

Compared with them, the shogunate army was completely blown up, and it could only rely on the advantages of home field, troops, geography and logistics to maneuver with the Ming army for several months.

At the very least, it can be proved that the Ming army is far stronger than the Yuan army four hundred years ago.

Because Matsudaira Nobutsuna felt that the Tokugawa shogunate was in its prime and was far more powerful than the Kamakura shogunate four hundred years earlier, the Hojo Tokimune of the Kamakura shogunate was able to defeat two invasions of the Yuan army, but the Tokugawa shogunate, which unified Japan, could not.