Chapter 721 The Emperor's Imperial Decree! Prepare to Launch an Uprising! [4600]

Before that, when Tokugawa Iemochi, Tenshoin and others came to Beijing, the emperor visited the shrine twice in order to pray for peace and prosperity for the country.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see at a glance that the purpose of praying for the country was actually to put pressure on the shogunate, put the shogunate on the spot, and force it to expel the barbarians.

The first time was to visit the Upper and Lower Shimo Shrines, accompanied by Tokugawa Iemochi, Ichibashi Yoshinobu and others.

The second time was to visit the Iwashimizu Shrine - this time the visit was particularly thrilling.

At that time, the emperor wanted to personally present the sword to the general on the day of the visit.

Under the watchful eyes of the public, the general had no reason not to take the sword.

Once the sword was taken, the shogunate had no way out and could only go all the way to expel the barbarians.

Otherwise, it would be a rebellion against the imperial order, and the feudal states of Choshu, Tosa and others would be able to obtain the righteousness of "punishing the imperial enemies" and the excuse for war, and raise troops to attack the shogunate.

However, it was a coincidence that Tokugawa Iemochi was ill in bed due to acclimatization.

Ichibashi Yoshinobu, who was to replace Tokugawa Iemochi, received the news in advance, so he left the imperial procession without permission on the grounds of abdominal pain.

The shogunate did not accompany him on this trip, and the court performed an embarrassing one-man show, which ended in failure.

Now, Tokugawa Iemochi and Tenshoin have returned to Edo.

Logically speaking, the court has no reason to "act" again.

As a result, they have to go to the imperial shrine again.

Thinking about it carefully, it is indeed unusual.

The reason given by the court this time is to pray for the Choshu domain, which is fighting against the Western barbarians, and pray for a complete victory in the war against the barbarians.

But the problem is that the war between Choshu and the Western countries has come to an end for the time being.

They have already finished the war, and you are only here to pray now? What did you do before?

The battle in Shimonoseki… Strictly speaking, it was the first phase of the battle, which had already ended.

The US-French coalition forces beat Choshu violently as expected.

After several days of fierce fighting, the former was unscathed, while the latter suffered heavy casualties, all its warships were destroyed, and its shore guns were destroyed, and it was completely defeated.

Perhaps in order to serve as a warning to others, the Western feudal lords were determined to make Choshu bleed and make it pay an unbearable price!

The temporary withdrawal of the US-French coalition forces was only to increase supplies and gather British and Dutch warships, in an attempt to form a larger fleet and fight Shimonoseki again in the future!

It will take until next year for the four countries of the United States, Britain, France and the Netherlands to gather their forces and launch a second round of offensives.

Choshu is temporarily safe.

However… it is only "temporarily".

To put it bluntly, Choshu's current state can be described in one word - lingering on!

It won't be long before a more intense war will befall it.

By then, the damage to Choshu would not only be the destruction of warships and coastal artillery.

As soon as the US-French coalition entered the battlefield, their resistance was instantly destroyed, and the "samurai spirit" and "Choshu spirit" that they were proud of were of no use at all... Most of them could not bear such a horrifying stimulation. The current Choshu clan could no longer be viewed with common sense!

After being beaten by the US-French coalition, they did not think about seeking peace or reorganizing their military strength, but to vent their personal anger, they sent troops to attack the Kokura clan on the other side of Shimonoseki and occupied its territory, just like a mad dog that has lost its mind and bites everyone it sees.

For this reason, most of the feudal states now quietly stay away from Choshu and keep their distance from it.

After all, who would want to get close to a mentally ill person holding a sharp blade in his hand?

As soon as the court announced the emperor's new round of travel plan, soon, the rumor that "the Sonjo faction will kidnap the emperor and burn the imperial palace" quickly spread throughout the streets and alleys of Kyoto.

Although this rumor did not specify which faction the Sonnōjō faction belonged to, the world unanimously thought of it - who else could it be? It must be the Sonnōjō faction of Choshu!

Everyone knows that although the Sonnōjō faction is divided into various factions such as the "Choshu faction", "Satsuma faction", and "Tosa faction", only the Sonnōjō faction of Choshu would be so extreme!

Based on the extremely unstable mental state of the Choshu Sonnōjō faction... let alone kidnapping the emperor and burning the imperial palace, it is not surprising that they do any bizarre and perverted things!

Although the source is unknown, Qing Deng, Matsudaira Yoshiyasu and others cannot help but pay more attention to this rumor.

This rumor is not groundless!

First of all, the place where the emperor will visit this time is the tomb of Emperor Jimmu of Yamato and Kasuga Taisha, and the scheduled time is the end of August.

The previous two visits were in Kyoto, but this time the visit to Yamato is far away from Kyoto.

Regardless of whether the rumors are true or false, once the emperor leaves Kyoto, he will be a fish on the chopping board, at the mercy of others!

The emperor does not have any imperial guards or imperial guards.

You can't expect those powerless nobles to protect the emperor, right?

If the emperor leaves Kyoto, it is not surprising that he encounters any accident!

Secondly, since a long time ago, there has been a conspiracy theory circulating among the people that "Choshu and the nobles of the Sonjo faction colluded with each other and secretly held the emperor hostage."

The unusual place and time of the trip, and then think of this conspiracy theory...

The Choshu Sonjo faction, which was forced into a desperate situation by the anti-foreign war, decided to take a different approach and hold the emperor hostage to Choshu to further deepen its control over the court and gain the privilege of commanding the whole country - thinking about it this way, everything becomes reasonable!

Taking a step back, let's not talk about the truth or falsehood of this conspiracy theory for now.

One thing is certain: the Zunbo faction does not respect the emperor that much.

Some members of the Zunbo sect—mainly middle- and lower-level members—really loved the emperor because of convert fanaticism or other reasons.

However, the top people of the Zunbo faction, such as Takasugi Shinsaku, Katsura Kogoro, Sanjo Sanimi and others, do not love the emperor as much as they seem on the surface.

In other words, on the issue of "how to view the emperor", the senior officials of the Zunbo faction and the senior officials of the Samu faction are consistent - they regard the emperor as a tool!

As long as the emperor is kidnapped, Changzhou can, like Cao Mengde in the Three Kingdoms era, hold the emperor hostage to order the princes.

First, it was announced in the name of the emperor: The emperor came to Choshu voluntarily, and we did not force him.

Then, he continued to use the name of the emperor to order the princes of the world, cause trouble for the shogunate, repeatedly condemned the shogunate, and even deprived the Tokugawa clan of the official position of general for conquering barbarians.

Anyway, the Emperor is in their hands, and they can manipulate the Emperor's speech as they please, and say whatever they want him to say.

In fact, it didn't matter to the people of Kyoto whether the emperor lived or died.

To put it bluntly, from hundreds of years ago, the actual position of the emperor was not the leader of a country at all, but a sage-like existence, just a cultural symbol.

Even among the people of Kyoto who were born under the emperor's feet, there was no shadow of the emperor in their daily lives.

In the eyes of careerists and politicians, the emperor is a useful tool.

But to ordinary people, the emperor was just a dispensable existence.

Whether Yan Shenggong lives or dies is none of their business!

It might be better if he died.

Because it can also give them something to talk about after dinner.

Compared with the emperor's stay and life and death, the scholars and people in Kyoto were more concerned about whether the Zunbo faction in Choshu would burn the imperial palace - this was an important matter related to their livelihood!

The emperor's imperial palace is not a solid fortress with magnificent walls and a moat like Edo Castle, Osaka Castle, and Nijo Castle.

The walls of the imperial palace are very short, and you can easily climb in by setting up an escalator.

In addition, the Imperial Palace is located across a street from nearby residences.

Once the palace is on fire and a strong wind blows, countless sparks will scatter in all directions like dandelion seeds.

By then, most of Kyoto will be in danger of being burned to the ground!

In terms of population density, Kyoto is not inferior to Edo or Osaka.

Kyoto cannot afford a fire!

"Publishing rumors and spreading rumors" has always been a favorite among the people.

As the rumors of "taking the emperor hostage and burning the imperial palace" continued to spread, various versions gradually began to appear.

Choshu not only wants to hold the emperor hostage, but also holds all the officials of the imperial court hostage!

Choshu not only wanted to burn the Imperial Palace, but also set fires everywhere in Kyoto!

…

There are countless stories similar to this that are both true and illusory.

In recent days, the air in Kyoto has always been filled with the smell of tension.

Panic spread like a plague to every corner of Kyoto.

In a few places, there has even been a rush to grab rice.

Seito and Matsudaira Yongho had to come forward together and issue a joint statement to calm the mood of the people in Kyoto.

For Qingnog, this is a good reason to increase the number of people patrolling the town.

As a result, under Qingnobo's instruction, the Shinsengumi dispatched additional manpower to patrol the town on the grounds of "ensuring public order."

On the surface it was to protect Kyoto, but in essence it was to prevent Okada Izo's sneak attack.

Hijikata Toshizo is worthy of being Aoto's right-hand man.

After Qingdeng entrusted him with the task of "adjusting the number of sentries and the scale of patrols", he took action vigorously and managed the matter in an orderly manner.

After his precise adjustments, the Shinsengumi's current number of sentries and patrol team size have more than doubled!

There is a sentry post at almost every accessible location.

Almost every patrol has at least forty soldiers.

No matter how powerful Okada Izo is, he has to weigh his own worth after encountering more than forty soldiers who are not only armed to the teeth with spears, shields and other weapons, but are also good at mandarin duck formations.

As a result, so far, Okada Izo has not appeared again, and there have been no reports of "soldiers being attacked".

Heisuke Toudo has also returned to the team after recovering from his injury.

There are rumors everywhere, suspicions everywhere, a strong smell of gunpowder everywhere, and the shadow of war everywhere... Kyoto and beyond are enveloped in a heavy atmosphere.

In such an environment, time passes bit by bit.

In the blink of an eye, July quietly left, and August has arrived.

On this day, August 1, Aizu suddenly sent an envoy to Mibu.

The envoy presented Qingteng with a letter written by Matsudaira Yongho - asking Qingteng to go to Jinjie Guangming Temple alone to discuss important matters!

…

…

Wenjiu three years (1863), August 1——

Kyoto, Kinkaikoji Temple (Aizu Military Main Formation)——

"Moo~~Moo~~Moo~~"

Carrot swung his ox tail, carried Qingdeng, and ran straight to Jinjie Guangming Temple with his hoofs.

Qingden complied with Matsudaira Yongho's request and attended the meeting alone without any entourage.

Seeing someone approaching, the guards outside the temple gate immediately stood half a step aside and used a human wall to block Qingdeng.

Qingdeng reined in the reins and revealed his identity to the guards.

Looking at the sudden arrival of King Ni, the guards were all shocked and immediately reported to the inside.

Within a moment, an old man was seen hurriedly rushing to Qingdeng.

"The Orange Military Department, if you miss the welcome from afar, please let me know!"

Qingdeng nodded lightly and responded without saltiness.

He recognized the other party as the old Yamakawa Bie of the Aizu clan.

The elders of the Aizu Domain were divided into three factions.

They are the "blame-throwing faction" headed by Saigo Norimu, who advocate ignoring the shogunate's orders and returning to the Aizu Domain to defend the one-third acre of land passed down by their ancestors.

The "militant faction" headed by Sagawa Kanbei held the opposite views to the "blame-throwing faction" and followed the ancestral motto of "defending the shogunate to the death."

Finally, there is the "fishing faction" headed by Shanchuan Bingwei.

The "fishing faction" focuses on the word "fishing". They don't choose sides and are stuck between the "blame-shifting faction" and the "militant faction".

Saigo Norai's mother, who only wanted to return to the feudal clan, would definitely not get along with Ayoto.

During the recent Iga offensive and defensive battle, Sagawa Kanbei disobeyed military orders and sent troops without permission, resulting in a disastrous defeat. He was captured and imprisoned by Aoto, and he had a bad time with Aoto.

Therefore, on the whole, it is most appropriate to send Yamakawa Soldier Guard, who is the most stable and has no "black history", to welcome Aoto.

Under the leadership of Shanchuan Bingwei, Qingden strode towards the depths of Jinjie Guangming Temple.

Walking through corridors one after another, passing through palaces one after another.

Finally, they stopped outside the sliding door of a quiet, hidden room with no one passing around.

"Tachibana Military Department, please."

Yamakawa Bie turned sideways, said this to Qingden, and pushed open the sliding door with his own hands.

With a bang, the door opened.

Qingteng looked up and saw that there was only one person in the small room with no furniture except for two candle lamps - Matsudaira Yongho nodded to Qingteng as a greeting.

Qingdeng raised his feet and entered.

Yamakawa Bie who stayed outside the room consciously closed the door and left quickly.

Qingden walked directly opposite Matsudaira Yongho and sat down cross-legged casually.

As soon as he sat down, he asked bluntly:

"Higo-sama, you suddenly invited me here. Why?"

While asking the question, he took a rough look at the other person's face.

I saw Songping Rongbao's calm face, and his cheeks were full of solemnity.

To be able to make Yōho Matsudaira, who has always shown a calm face, show such an expression... It is not difficult to imagine that something extraordinary must have happened!

"Tachibana Military Department, the situation is urgent, so I will keep the story short."

After saying that, Matsudaira Yongho pushed a delicate wooden box beside his legs to Qingden's knees.

"Please look at this."

Qingteng opened the wooden box without knowing why - there was a neatly folded letter inside the box.

A letter with a thin purple stripe.

At first glance, this seems to be just an ordinary letter.

However, the next moment he saw this letter, Qingdeng's pupils suddenly shrank, and his eyes burst out in shock.

"This is...Chen Han...?!"

Chen Han - the emperor's imperial edict!

The purple lace is the symbol of the emperor.

Matsudaira Yongho changed into a solemn tone.

"Yes, it is the Emperor's Chen Han. Tachibana Military Department, please read Chen Han quickly."

After Qingdeng heard this, he was not polite, stretched out his hand to pick up Chen Han, and spread it out.

The letter was filled with Chinese characters and not a single pseudonym could be found - typical imperial style.

After reading the contents of Chen Han at a glance, Qingdeng opened his eyes wide in astonishment.

About 5 seconds later, he slowly raised his head and looked directly at Matsudaira Yongho opposite, their eyes meeting each other.

"Good guy..."

Qingden twitched the corners of his mouth and showed a meaningful smile.

"The Emperor has given us the edict on clothing and belts!"

Because it is a letter written by the emperor, the words and sentences in it are difficult to pronounce and obscure.

If you don’t have a certain level of Sinology, you won’t even be able to read it.

The main content of this eloquent letter from Chen Han can be roughly summarized as - Orange Military Department! Matsudaira Higomori! Help! I was held hostage by the Zunhui patriots from Changzhou and the Zunhui faction ministers within the imperial court! My edict is twisted, my voice is silenced! I can't let the outside world know my true thoughts! I don’t want to travel to Yamato at all! I don’t want to end the curtain at all! They have gone crazy! Go and mobilize your troops and come to rescue me quickly!

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