Edo, Japan.

On this night, in the midst of the Tokugawa Shogun's Oku, there was a particularly dull banquet, with more than 20 beautiful men in kimono sitting on both sides. When the general's favorite concubine, Yu Qinzhifang, who is known for being good at playing the qin, finished playing a song "Ping Jia", somehow, the whole house fell silent inexplicably.

Tokugawa Iekei's youngest son, Saishin-in, has just died! In fact, such a thing was expected for a long time, and Tokugawa Iekei had almost thirty children dead. The shogun, who is almost 60 years old, has only one heir, Tokugawa Iesada, who suffers from cerebral palsy. But it's a bit unreasonable to let a person with cerebral palsy inherit the general's position......

"How can a general who suffers from encephalopathy and cannot manage government at all lead Japan to implement a combination of public and military forces?"

"If the general is succeeded by Quan Da Nayan (referring to the family), the general's family will probably be annexed by the imperial court."

"And Quan Da Nayan is also infertile, and he will still welcome his adopted son in the future, in this case, it is better to welcome his adopted son earlier."

These words had unconsciously spread among the Tokugawa family's important ministers and women, and the music played by Yu Koto, who had also lost many children, added a lot of sorrow to everyone. Yu Qinnofang is now pregnant, and it is likely that Tokugawa Iekei will have the last chance to get a healthy heir. However, Qi Xinyuan's death added a touch of sadness to Yu Qin Zhifang's heart, as if she had seen the tragic fate of the child in her womb.

"As the most powerful general in Japan, there is no way to have a healthy child...... Tokugawa Iekei also burst into tears. It has been his dream for many years to have a healthy child, even if it is a daughter! But God didn't let him get his wish.

"Father. Seihime and I, as well as Thread Hime, are also your children......" It was Tokugawa Akiko who spoke. She and Prince Arisugawa Palace's two daughters, Seihime and Thread Hime, are both adopted daughters of the Princess. This time, Akiko came to Japan with the mission to welcome Prince Shukonai. In Kyoto, he heard that Gongfang had lost another son, so he immediately rushed to Edo to comfort his father. Today's banquet was held to welcome her.

"But you're not sons, Tokugawa needs an heir, and only sons can inherit the Tokugawa clan!"

Seeing that the general was still so sad, Tokugawa Akiko comforted him again: "Yu Qinzhifang is already pregnant, and my father can also impregnate other women, so there will definitely be a healthy heir born." ”

"I'm getting old, and my health is getting worse day by day. The child in Ah Qin's belly is the most hopeful future, don't have any accidents! ”

Tokugawa Akiko looked at the grief-stricken Gongfang with a look of wanting to say something.

"Akiko, do you have anything to say? Is it to speak for the sake of celebration? ”

Yoshiki Hitotsubashi is the elder brother of Akiko Tokugawa, and of course she hopes that her brother will inherit the Tokugawa clan and become a shogun. However, she also hopes that Gongfang-sama can have a healthy offspring, and if it is a son, he can be the heir of Keiki.

"Father, daughter does not speak for rejoicing, but ...... I want to tell my father that the medical level of the Affiliated Hospital of Yingtian Jishi University is very high. Especially obstetrics and pediatrics. Now very few children have died in Yingtian's powerful family. If Qi Xinyuan lived in Yingtian, he would definitely be able to grow up. ”

Tokugawa Akiko herself had just given birth to a daughter at the Otenji University Hospital. She was named Zhu Yilan, so she was very impressed by this hospital.

"Really?" Tokugawa Iekei glanced at Yu Qinzhifang, this woman has lost many children, and if she loses the child in her womb again, she will probably have to die old.

"It's true, if you can let Yu Qin's Fang Hall go to Ying Tiansheng's child, it will be more secure."

"Then let her go to Yingtian! Ah Qin, you go to Yingtian. Tokugawa Iekei said, "How about being Akiko's adopted son if you give birth to a son?" ”

"Gong ...... Public. ”

"As long as you can grow up healthy, it's the same everywhere."

"This ......" Yu Qinzhifang was very hesitant, because she also hoped that her son could become a general, so it was better for him to become the adopted son of the Tokugawa family, rather than the adopted son of Tokugawa Akiko.

"It's decided!" Saying that, Tokugawa Iekei looked at Akiko seriously, "Please, I'm already very old, I may not live for a few years, and now I don't have any other wishes, I just want to have my own offspring, you must take good care of my child." Do you know the way? ”

"Hay." Tokugawa Akiko bowed to the ground, "Please rest assured, father, Akiko will not disgrace his life." ”

"If it's a son, he'll be the heir of the Tokugawa clan in the future!" General Tokugawa suddenly looked at Tokugawa Akiko with a solemn face, "Akiko, I hope he can marry Princess Yilan." ”

Tokugawa Akiko was stunned, and she suddenly discovered something that she hadn't thought of before. It is very likely that she will become the adoptive mother and mother-in-law of the future Japanese general! will even become a real power figure like the Kasuga Bureau, perhaps more powerful than the Kasuga Bureau, because she is a woman of the Tokugawa family, her biological father is the former feudal lord of Mito Tokugawa, her adoptive father is the princess, and her husband is the son of the Great Tomorrow......

"By the way, have you seen Prince Shukonai? Is she a beauty? Shogun Tokugawa seemed to be in a better mood, and after a while, he asked about Prince Shukonai's marriage.

"Of course, Lady Lady...... Of course it's a beauty......"

"How's it like you?"

"Of course it's prettier than my daughter......"

"Really! Isn't that a stunning woman! Can the Heavenly Emperor still give birth to such a daughter? Shogun Tokugawa suddenly laughed. Akiko, tell me the truth, isn't Prince Shuziai an ugly bastard? ”

"Your Royal Highness...... "Tokugawa Akiko twisted her eyebrows, "Your Highness's posture is still ...... There is still a middle-class posture. ”

"Middle-upper?" The general smiled, "The women of the public family have always been boring, they can't compare to the women of our martial arts, even if they have a stunning appearance, they won't be favored, let alone the middle and upper?" However, in order to show our samurai family's responsibility to protect the imperial court, I have ordered the selection of several stunning women to be the dowries of His Royal Highness Shuzi. ”

The situation in Japan was a bit bizarre, with the shogunate proposing a combination of public and military forces after the victory at Osaka Bay – and Tokugawa Iekei had studied the Ming dynasty and proposed an advanced concept of "agrarian absolutism." It was proposed that Japan should implement a constitutional government, open a parliament, and elect members of the national parliament by the samurai landlords of the whole country, and then elect the prime minister by the members of the parliament, and decide on national affairs. The voting rights of samurai landlords were not calculated according to the number of people, but the amount of land, and "one stone and one vote" was implemented. In this way, the Tokugawa clan had four million votes, and the prime minister was of course none other than a figure or agent of the Tokugawa clan.

Of course, such a system could not satisfy the imperial court and the public government, and some foreign feudal lords were also dissatisfied - such a reform was tantamount to giving the Tokugawa family a monopoly on power for generations! The so-called combination of public and military forces was the annexation of the imperial court by the Tokugawa shogunate.

However, the shogunate's authority was extremely high after the victory, and it had a new army of 20,000 men, and it was also in-law with the Ming Emperor, so it had enough strength to suppress the opposition in the country. Even the Satsuma clan, which had made the first contribution in the Battle of Osaka Bay, did not dare to openly contradict the shogunate.

In fact, the "one stone, one vote" system is not a bad thing for the Shimazu family, which has 770,000 koku. Because of the great victory of Osaka Bay, the fiefdom may be increased to 900,000 koku. Moreover, after the Battle of Osaka Bay, Tokugawa Iekei immediately instructed Shimazu Saiko to live in seclusion and prop up Shimazu Saibin, who was pro-shogunate, to power. Therefore, the Satsuma Domain, which was the only possible opponent of the shogunate, was unlikely to express its opposition to "one stone and one vote".

The imperial court can only take the method of delay now, hoping to survive until the death of the "Ming Jun" of the Tokugawa family, and when the cerebral palsy family is determined to inherit the post of general, the combination of public and military forces should be able to drag on for ten or eight years, and there may be some turnarounds at that time.

At the same time, the imperial court is still actively looking for foreign aid, and now the foreign aid they have found is the Ming Emperor Zhu Jishi, and Prince Shuzi married in order to hook up with the son of the great tomorrow. (To be continued......)