Wagongiya waited for a long time but did not receive Tokugawa Iemo's comfort or persuasion. Instead, she found Tokugawa Iemo staring at her with a smile, so she couldn't help but ask:

"why are you laughing?"

"It's nothing, I'm just really happy that I have a good wife."

"Compared with previous generals, I am really happy."

"I have a kind and reliable adoptive mother, a virtuous wife who respects me as a guest, and one..."

At this point, his words stopped abruptly.

The second half of his words - "There is also a close friend who is both my brother and my father" - was swallowed back in time without being spoken.

How could Hegong, who had grown up in a deep palace and lacked immunity to matters between men and women, endure such love talk?

In the blink of an eye, her entire little face turned red and she looked away, not daring to look at Tokugawa Iemo again.

Tokugawa Iemo had extraordinarily rich experience in how to comfort and persuade Wagoniya.

He crossed his knees, sat next to He Gong, put his arms around her shoulders, and held her in his arms.

No one knows what he said to her next...the content of their conversation is a mystery.

About half an hour later, the female officials who were waiting quietly outside the door saw Tokugawa Iemo holding Wakiya's little hand and walked out slowly.

"Let's go, Hegong."

Tokugawa Iemo said softly.

"We are only separated for a short time. It won't be long before we meet again."

He Gong lowered his head, nodded like a chicken pecking at rice, and murmured:

"Well...you have to be more careful and don't get hurt..."

Tokugawa Iemo laughed dumbly:

"Don't worry. I'm just sitting in Edo Castle, not fighting on the front lines. I'm very safe."

After saying that, he raised his hand to straighten Wagongiya's hair and clothes, his movements as gentle as his tone.

"Okay, time is tight, let's go quickly."

He Gong opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something.

But until she was surrounded by female officials and left, she didn't say a word.

Tokugawa Iemo pursed his lips and stared straight at Wamiya's back, not even blinking, as if he wanted to imprint the other person's figure forever in his eyes and deep in his mind.

At this moment, just when Wagongiya was about to turn the corner of the corridor and disappear from Tokugawa Iemo's field of vision, she suddenly stopped, turned around, and met his eyes.

"General!"

Her face lost the sadness and hesitation just now, and became extremely determined, and she said word by word:

"I wish you good luck in martial arts!"

When Tokugawa Iemo heard this, he was startled at first, and then showed a look of relief and emotion on his face.

After barely calming down his turbulent mood, he nodded vigorously:

"Well! He Gong, we will definitely defeat the bandits and bring you back as soon as possible!"

Smile with Gong Gong.

After the couple looked at each other for a moment, Wagoniya leaned forward slightly and bowed lightly. After that, she didn't stay any longer and turned around the corner of the corridor, preparing to leave Ou and board the ship to Ou.

Although there was no longer a figure of Wanomiya in front of him, Tokugawa Iemo still stared at the position where the other party was standing, fascinated, and he was reluctant to look back.

After a while, a flash of loneliness flashed in his eyes, and he murmured:

"...He Gong, let's meet again if we are destined."

At this moment, a heroic female voice sounded from behind him:

"Jia Mao, I finally found you! So you are here!"

Tokugawa Iemo was startled, then subconsciously turned around to look.

After seeing clearly the appearance of the visitor, he couldn't help but open his mouth in surprise.

"Mother, why are you...dressed like Tomoe Gozen?"

The visitor is none other than Tianzhang Courtyard.

At this time, she was not wearing the light cyan "widow outfit" or the miko costume with white top and purple bottom. Instead, she was wearing white and cyan armor, holding a naginata in her right hand and a bow in her left hand, like a

What a wonderful female military commander who stepped out of ancient war paintings!

"Do you even need to ask?"

Tianzhangyuan smiled and shook the sword and bow in his hand.

"Iemo, I want to fight side by side with you! Defend Edo Castle until the last moment!"

After Tokugawa Iemo heard this, he immediately frowned.

"Mother, please forgive me for my blunt words: I can just stay in Edo for you! There is no need for you to get involved! Please go out of the city with Wamiya!"

Faced with Tokugawa Iemo's sincere persuasion, Tenzouin shrugged disapprovingly:

"Jia Mao, do you think I am the palace? I will coax you a few times and you will be obedient."

"I've heard that Wakomiya won't leave Edo no matter what."

"It seems that you have successfully persuaded her to leave."

After saying that, Tianzhangyuan turned his head and looked at the room where Hegong had just been staying.

"Although I don't have a good compatibility with He Gong, I have to admit that she does have deep affection for you."

Tenzōin's resolute attitude made Tokugawa Iemo at a loss.

After a moment, he clenched his fists and lowered his voice:

"...Mother, haven't you already made up your mind to go to Otsu with Mr. Tachibana after the 'Changzhou Expedition' is over and the world returns to peace?"

"In that case, I beg you, my dear, don't take any risks at this juncture..."

"If anything happens to you...I will go crazy."

"If Jun Ju asks me 'Where did Yu Yi go' someday, I don't know how to answer..."

His words were full of sincere emotions... His concern for Tianzhang Academy was beyond words.

Even Tianzhangyuan couldn't help but feel soft-hearted, and his facial lines relaxed a lot.

However, even so, she still did not change her determination:

"Jia Mao, who do you think I am?"

"Long before I met Shengqing, I was already the Grand Odaisho of the Edo Shogunate and the queen of the samurai family!"

"After being a member of the Wu family, I ran away from the battle. One day, I will be under Jiuquan. I will not be able to see my father!"

Mother and son stared at each other, neither of them willing to give in...

…

…

"Choshu is attacking, evacuate immediately" - under the propaganda of the shogunate, this news quickly spread throughout the streets and alleys of Edo.

Panic and turmoil came as expected.

Fortunately, the shogunate had already anticipated and prepared, so these panics and commotions were limited to a small area and did not spread.

It is true that for a long time, the shogunate has always been characterized by "low administrative efficiency".

But today, faced with the current unprecedented catastrophe, and with the personal supervision of Tokugawa Iemo, it is rare for the shogunate to show amazing efficiency.

Officials at all levels rushed quickly to "empty" Edo step by step.

The biggest goal and the biggest difficulty of this operation is to evacuate the soldiers and people.

Those who had a place to seek refuge would drag their families and families outside the river.

Those who had no place to seek refuge followed the shogunate's arrangements and took refuge in Ou in an orderly manner.

It is worth mentioning that before this, due to the abolition of the "Public Visitor Order", the permanent population of Edo dropped sharply.

This incident would have had a very bad impact on the Edo economy.

Unexpectedly, due to the sudden drop in population, the pressure on the shogunate to evacuate civilians was greatly reduced, which was a blessing in disguise.

…

…

Edo, Okemachi, Little Chiba Sword Hall——

"Father! Father!"

Chiba Jutaro shouted and rushed into his father Chiba Nobuyoshi's room.
To be continued...