Edo, Edo Castle, Council Room.

The old man Matsudaira fixed the letter and sent it with four Wakatoshi: Kitagawa Toshiyuki, Yoshimoto Kaemon, Matsudaira Takaki, and Matsudaira Junzan - a total of five people, sitting around in the meeting room.

Matsudaira Sadanobu has never been the kind of person who likes to talk nonsense.

After all the Wakainians arrived, Matsudaira Sadanobu directly handed a piece of letter paper to them and asked them to take turns reading it.

The four young postmen all frowned after reading the contents written on this piece of paper.

Beichuan was the last person to read this letter.

After Beichuan put down the letter, his brows were so tight that he could pinch a fly to death and said in a deep voice:

"The current situation in the north...is even worse than it appears."

That piece of paper was sent back from the distant Matsumae Clan at great speed.

Matsumae Domain - the northernmost domain in Japan.

The total koku of Matsumae Domain - that is, the total grain output in one year is only 10,000 koku, which is not even as high as Ogata's hometown, Hirose Domain.

Although Hirose Domain, Ogata's hometown, is only a small domain as big as a sesame bean, the total stone height of Hirose Domain is 30,000 stone, which is three times that of Matsumae Domain.

It's just that - although the Matsumae Domain is not a very wealthy and powerful domain, its status is no worse than any other domain due to its unique geographical location.

Because it is the northernmost vassal state in Japan, Matsumae Domain can be said to be the northern gate of Japan.

If the Lucia Kingdom moves south, or if the Ezo people in Ezo land revolt again, the Matsumae Domain will be the first to be attacked.

Since the frequency of expeditions sent by the Lucia Kingdom to Ezo has become more frequent in recent years, the shogunate began to send more surveillance to the north to guard against the Lucia Kingdom's army.

So far, 5,000 troops have gathered in Matsumae Domain.

The letter that Wakatoshi read just now was sent by Masaya Inamori, the general who is currently leading the 5,000 troops in the Matsumae Domain to monitor and guard against the Lucia Kingdom.

Inamori was transferred away from Butterfly Island by Matsudaira Sadanobu in the spring of this year and transferred to Matsumae Domain to take charge.

Inamori also deserves the trust of Matsudaira Sadanobu. In the past few months, he has been meticulously performing his duties, closely monitoring all the movements of Lucia Country, and regularly sending messages to Edo to report on the latest situation in the north.

.

"Now that everyone has read what is written in the letter." Matsudaira Sadanobu said expressionlessly, "Now let's express our opinions."

“How do you think we should deal with the current chaos in Ezo?”

This latest letter sent back from Inamori tells two things in very short sentences.

The first thing: Lucia Kingdom sent more and more expeditions to Ezo. By the end of September, their scouts had discovered Lucia Kingdom expedition teams at the northernmost border of Matsumae Domain.

The second thing: The surrender of Ezo who was entrenched in the "Red Moon Fortress" failed again.

"Unexpectedly, an expedition team from the Lucia Kingdom has already appeared at the northern border of the Matsumae Domain..." Yoshimoto, who usually always shows a "peacemaker" face, rarely had a gloomy face, "This is really not a good thing.

News..."

"We are just sending an expedition team now, and in a few years we may send troops directly." Beichuan sneered a few times, "The Lucians are not good people, they are quite warlike, and they are also very fond of the land.

greedy."

"...Should we try to negotiate with Lucia Country?" Matsudaira Takaki, who was sitting across from Kitagawa, hesitated.

Matsudaira Takaki is the weakest among the four Wakanagi.

This personality is the opposite of Beichuan, so the two often put forward completely different opinions.

As expected - as soon as Matsudaira Takaki finished speaking, Kitagawa immediately spoke up:

"What we should do now is not to negotiate with the Lucians, but to actively prepare for war."

"Strengthen the defense of the north to prepare for emergencies."

"A hundred years ago, the Qing Dynasty on the other side of the ocean also relied on its victory on the battlefield to successfully sign the Treaty of Nerchinsk with the Lucians, preventing the Lucians from moving south."

"If we don't conquer the Lucians and just go to negotiate with them dryly, I don't think it will be of much use."

As soon as Kitagawa finished speaking, Matsudaira Sadanobu, who had been silent just now, finally spoke out abruptly:

"I agree with Kitagawa's point of view."

"If Lucia was the kind of country that didn't crave land, it wouldn't have started a war with the Qing Dynasty a hundred years ago."

"Rather than negotiating with the Lucians, what we should do is to actively prepare for war, strengthen the defense of the north, and guard against the invasion of the Lucians."

"only--"

Matsudaira Sadanobu suddenly changed the subject.

"Rather than actively preparing for war and guarding against the Lucians, I think there is one thing that we need to do immediately."

As soon as Matsudaira Sadanobu said this, all the people present showed curiosity.

After everyone focused their curious and doubtful eyes on Matsudaira Sadanobu, Matsudaira Sadanobu said word by word:

"Our top priority now should be to completely wipe out the Ezo who are entrenched in the Red Moon Fortress."

When he said this sentence just now, Matsudaira Sadanobu's tone was always calm.

Obviously, what he just said contained words like "complete annihilation" that are enough to make people shudder.

There was no surprise - after Matsudaira Sadanobu finished speaking, the expressions of the four Wakanagi headed by Kitagawa changed one after another.

"Sir Lao Zhong." Beichuan said solemnly, "Do you mean... to use troops against the 'Red Moon Fortress'?"

"Didn't you just read the latest letter from Inamori?" Matsudaira Sadanobu's tone was still neither sad nor happy, "The Ezos of the 'Red Moon Fortress' have refused our surrender again."

"How many times has this been rejected?"

"I don't have any patience anymore."

When Matsudaira Sadanobu dispatched Inamori Masaya to the north, he not only put Inamori in charge of monitoring the Lucians, but also put Inamori in charge of recruiting and surrendering Ezo who were entrenched in the "Red Moon Fortress".

As Matsudaira Sadanobu said just now, he really couldn't remember how many times he had surrendered the Ezos in the "Red Moon Fortress".

In addition, as Matsudaira Sadanobu said in another sentence just now - he has no patience.

The stubbornness of the Ezo people entrenched in the "Red Moon Fortress" made Matsudaira Sadanobu very dissatisfied.

"The 'Red Moon Fortress' is located on a battleground for military strategists."

Matsudaira Sadanobu continued.

"As the relationship with Lucia Country becomes increasingly tense, we must control the 'Red Moon Fortress' no matter what."

"Since the Ezo people in the 'Red Moon Fortress' are still unwilling to listen to our orders, then we can only resort to force."

The four Ruonians looked at each other in confusion.

In the end, it was Beichuan who spoke first:

"...I support Mr. Lao Zhong's proposition."

Beichuan looked serious.

"The location of the 'Red Moon Fortress' is really important."

"We must not let it fall into the hands of the Lucians."

"Even if you have to rob it, you must grab the 'Red Moon Fortress'!"

"...Loonaka-sama." Matsudaira Takaki said slowly after hesitating for a while, "Don't talk about military matters lightly."

"I also agree that we must control the 'Red Moon Fortress'."

"But I don't think it's yet to the point where we have to use the military."

"What's more, the Ezo people who are entrenched in the 'Red Moon Fortress' possess firearms and have tough temperaments."

"If you use troops against them, you have to think twice!"

"Takahi, I understand what you mean." Matsudaira Sadanobu said softly.

Because three of the five people present had the last name Matsudaira, for the sake of convenience, Matsudaira Sadanobu called Matsudaira Takaki and Matsudaira Junzan by their first names when they were both present.

"Of course I know that the Ezo people in the 'Red Moon Fortress' are not easy to deal with."

"But I think this battle still has to be fought."

"The reason why I want to use troops against the 'Red Moon Fortress' is not just because I want to seize this battleground for military strategists before Lucia launches a formal invasion of our country."

"I have another purpose."

"I want to use the conquest of the 'Red Moon Fortress' to shock those Ezo people in Ezo who still have two minds."

"Everyone, you have probably not forgotten last year's 'Rebellion of Cunasi Lemenasse', right?"

"Of course I won't forget it." As soon as Matsudaira Sadanobu finished speaking, Kitagawa immediately answered.

The Rebellion of Kunasili Menasi - a turmoil that broke out in Ezo last year, that is, in the first year of Kansei.

A large number of Ezo launched an unrest in Kunasi Limenasi to oppose the oppression of them by the shogunate.

After the turmoil broke out, the shogunate spent a lot of effort to finally suppress it.

"The coveting of Ezo Land that Lucia has shown in recent years has reminded me."
To be continued...