I formed the strongest swordsman group

The Changshu clan took advantage of the situation and colluded with the ministers in the court who were admiring and respectful.

Because they had been away from politics for a long time, the ministers of the Kyoto court only knew how to recite poems and write poems all day long, so they did not have a clear understanding of the general trend of the times and the world pattern at all.

From the bottom of their hearts, they believe that the United States, Britain, France, Russia and other countries are all despicable, ungrateful and vulnerable barbarians.

It was entirely because of the incompetence of the shogunate that these barbarians set foot on Japanese soil in large numbers.

The ministers such as Sanjo Sanimi and Sanjo Nishikichi, who advocated the idea of ​​respecting and resisting, hit it off with the Choshu clan and worked together to control the court.

These ministers who cooperated with the Choshu clan were collectively called "the ministers of the Choshu faction".

The lofty ideals of the Choshu Domain and the ministers of the Choshu faction always talked about how the emperor was doing and how the court was doing.

However... Judging from their current behavior, it doesn't appear that they have any respect for the Emperor.

Although there is not enough evidence yet, judging from various signs, it is enough to believe that the emperor was kidnapped by them!

They controlled the Imperial Palace and imprisoned and monitored the Emperor in disguise, preventing the Emperor's voice from reaching the outside world.

In this process, they can conduct "black-box operations."

To put it simply, it means issuing a false edict!

At present, the emperor has issued several edicts, severely reprimanding the shogunate for being weak towards the barbarians, and demanding that the shogunate and the feudal lords immediately drive all barbarians in Japan back to the sea.

How many of these edicts were written by the emperor himself? What words were spoken by the emperor himself? Which words are completely false? There is simply no way to verify it.

In the Edo period, supporting the imperial court was the greatest form of political correctness.

As long as you support the imperial court, you can occupy the natural moral high ground.

Therefore, these edicts whose authenticity was unknown put the shogunate and the feudal lords into a very passive and disadvantageous position.

Otherwise, Tokugawa Iemo would not have been determined to go to Kyoto in person to discuss matters with the imperial court at the beginning of this year.

It can be said to be "holding the emperor hostage to order the princes"!

The actions of the Choshu Domain naturally aroused the vigilance of the shogunate and other feudal lords.

However, when the shogunate and the feudal lords reacted, it was a done deal. The court was already under the control of the Choshu clan and it was difficult to touch them.

…

…

After listening to Matsudaira Yongho's detailed explanation, Qingden breathed a long sigh of relief.

"Takasugi Shinsaku, Katsura Kogoro, Kusaka Gensui... What a coincidence. Except for Kusaka Gensui, I have met the other two..."

Matsudaira Yongho raised his eyebrows:

"Tachibana-sama, have you met Takasugi Shinsaku and Katsura Kogoro?"

Qingdeng nodded lightly:

"Well, I have met them once."

With the powerful memory given by his gift of "photographic memory", Aomori clearly remembered the faces of Takasugi Shinsaku and Katsura Kogoro.

In November of the first year of Wanyen (1860), Seito, who had just taken up the post of captain of the third division of the Hufu Bandit Kai, teamed up with the captain of the fifth division, Kimura Suma, and the captain of the seventh division, Tsuchida Masaichi, to send troops to exterminate the remnants of the anti-barbarian group. , met Shinsaku Takasugi by chance.

At that time, Takasugi Shinsaku single-handedly defeated the 7th Division of the Hufu Thieves Kai, and his powerful combat power left a deep impression on Ayoto.

Qingdeng's talent "Berserker" was copied from him.

As for Katsura Kogoro, it has to go back even further.

In the first year of Wanyan (1860), on August 20, a fierce red-white battle took place between the Trial Guard Hall and the Xuanwu Hall.

Yakuro Saito, the "Saito of Power" who admired Aoto very much, led his disciple to watch the whole game - at that time, the disciple he was leading was none other than Katsura Kogoro.

Compared to Takasugi Shinsaku, Katsura Kogoro is undoubtedly much more famous.

He was once a powerful swordsman in Edo.

At a young age, he received the Shinto Muken-ryu's Onsho Kaiden. With his absolute strength, he became the teacher of the training hall where strong men gathered. He was an outstanding figure with both civil and military skills.

At that time, after the game against Genbukan, Saito Yakuro led Katsura Kogoro to say hello to Aoto.

This was the first time Aoden saw Katsura Kogoro, and it was also the last time he saw him.

Since then, he has completely lost contact with Katsura Kogoro.

Only one day in the future, I learned from someone that he had resigned from his position as a teacher at the training hall and returned to his hometown alone.

After Aoto told the whole story of his acquaintance with Takasugi Shinsaku and Katsura Kogoro, Matsudaira Yōho nodded thoughtfully:

"I see... Lord Tachibana, I didn't expect you to have such a connection with Takasugi Shinsaku and Katsura Kogoro of the Choshu Domain."

"In the Changshu camp, the ones who need to be most vigilant are these two and Kusaka Genrui, who came from the same school as them."

"They are all outstanding heroes and extremely difficult people to deal with."

Speaking of this, Matsudaira Yongho paused.

"Then, let's talk about the Satsuma clan next..."

"Speaking of Satsuma Domain, there are three figures that must be mentioned - Shimazu Saibin, Saigo Kinnosuke and Okubo Kazzo."

Shimazu Qibin... At the same time he heard this name, Qingto's eyes narrowed uncontrollably.

…

…

The Shimazu family is a very old family.

Their ancestors are descendants of the Weizong family, descendants of the Qin family who claimed to be Qin Shihuang.

From the Kamakura period (1185-1333), the Shimazu family ruled the Satsuma region for generations.

Compared with the useless Mouri Qingqin who was incapable of doing anything and could only shout "Okay, let's do it!", the former lord of the Satsuma clan, Shimazu Saibin, was truly an unparalleled hero.

Shimazu Saibin, the 28th generation head of the Shimazu family, the 11th generation lord of the Satsuma Domain, succeeded the Satsuma Domain in the fourth year of Kayei (1851).

He was keen on Western science when he was young, looked at the world, and actively learned and absorbed advanced Western knowledge.

When he took office, he immediately began to carry out reforms to enrich the country and strengthen the army.

Within the domain, under the leading policy of "propagating industry and promoting industry", Shimazu Saibin started the construction of Japan's first modern Western-style factory cluster centered on the Kagoshima area, which involved Western-style shipbuilding and ironmaking industries ( Reverberatory furnaces, construction of smelting furnaces), textile industry, military industry (artillery, mines, mines), manufacturing (glass products) and many other industries.

In addition, he saw the importance of warships, built a dock in a short period of time, and successively manufactured a variety of Western-style sailing ships and warships, which in turn led to the prosperity of smelting, textiles, military and other industries.

While preparing the navy, he also did not neglect the construction of the army.

He adopted Western-style military training methods and established a French-style cavalry unit. The Satsuma army installed the most advanced rifles and artillery on a large scale.

According to legend, the Satsuma Domain's arsenal was already capable of producing new weapons.

It is no exaggeration to say that Shimazu Saibin single-handedly created the power of the Satsuma Domain.

Under his vigorous reforms, the Satsuma Domain emerged as a powerful entity that even the shogunate did not dare to compete with.

No matter from which aspect you look at it, Shimazu Qibin is undoubtedly an enlightened master.

However... However...

Tianzhangyuan's pretty face flashed through Qingdeng's mind.

Shimazu Qibin is the most determined "One Bridge School".

In the sixth year of Kayei (1853), in order to expand the influence of the "Hitobashi faction" in the shogunate, he single-handedly led the marriage between Tenjoin and Tokugawa Iesada.

In other words - he was the one who made Tianzhangyuan's life a mess!

Tianzhangyuan's misfortunes were all caused by him.

A girl who was originally carefree had to marry an incompetent loser because of his ruthless decision. She became a widow in her early twenties and was forced to get involved in the center of the trend of the times...

Thinking of this, Qingdeng couldn't help but feel heavy in his heart.

To be fair, Shimazu Qibin's behavior cannot be criticized.

In ancient times... no, correction, it should be said that women have been victims of politics throughout the ages.

Just sacrificing an insignificant collateral descendant can lead to the expansion of the Satsuma clan's political influence... This deal is really a bargain.

However, Shimazu Saibin probably never thought that after Tenjoin married Edo, he did not support Hitotsubashi to take office as he wished, but instead turned against the "Nanki Sect". Became a loyal fan of Tokugawa Iemo.

In addition to his great foresight, Shimazu Qibin also has a good eye for understanding people and has promoted many talents.

Among the many talents he single-handedly promoted, two were the most outstanding - Saigo Kinosuke and Okubo Kazzo.

To put it simply, these two men respectively carried the two banners of Satsuma Domain's civil and military affairs.

Saigo Yoshinosuke was born in the 10th year of the Bunsei reign (1828).

Okubo Ichizo was born in the first year of Tenbao (1830).

Both started at a young age and were born into lower-level samurai families.

In the peaceful world of the past, a person with such a humble background would have definitely never made it to the top.

Fortunately, Shimazu Qibin, who knows people well and is good at assigning tasks, discovered them.

In the seventh year of Kayei (1854), Saigo Kinnosuke became Shimazu Qibin's confidant and participated in the feudal administration.

In the fourth year of Ansei (1857), Okubo Kazzo was promoted to infantry supervisor.

Under Shimazu Qibin's careful training, the two accumulated a lot of political experience, and their talents became increasingly apparent.

In the fifth year of Ansei (1858), Shimazu Saibin suddenly fell ill. His nephew Shimazu Tadayoshi became the feudal lord, and the real power was in the hands of his younger brother Shimazu Hisamitsu.

As the saying goes, "one person, one team."

After Shimazu Hisamitsu came to power, conservative forces within the domain began to rise, and Saigo Kinosuke and Okubo Kazzo, both former ministers of the former dynasty, were gradually alienated.

At this critical moment, Okubo Yizo used an extreme operation to forcefully reverse the unfavorable situation.

He discovered that Shimazu Hisamitsu loved to play Go, so he practiced chess hard to facilitate communication.

Hearing that Shimazu Hisamitsu wanted to read "Koshiden", he managed to get as many as 28 volumes of "Koshiden" and lent them to Shimazu Hisamitsu in separate volumes. He also took the opportunity to put a note in the book to let Shimazu Hisamitsu understand. own perspective on the situation.

Finally, after unremitting efforts, Okubo Kazzo gained the trust and reuse of Shimazu Hisamitsu and returned to the center of the feudal government. The conservative forces that had just risen were suppressed back.

Compared with Okubo Kazzo, Saigo Kinosuke's experience is quite complicated.

When Shimazu Saibin was still alive, under his instruction, Saigo Yoshinosuke frequently worked for the movement to respect the king and fight against the foreigners.

Saigo Kinosuke's activity attracted the attention of the shogunate.

Therefore, when Naomi Ii launched the "Ansei Prison", he naturally became one of the targets of the ban.

In order to protect Saigo Kinnosuke from being held accountable by the shogunate, the feudal lord pretended to sentence him to exile and exiled him to Amami Oshima. In fact, it protected him in disguise and allowed him to go to other places to temporarily avoid the limelight - this avoidance lasted for three years. .

Last year, in the second year of Bunkyu (1862), he was pardoned through the mediation of Okubo Kazzo, who already held great power in the domain, and returned to Satsuma Domain.

Based on various signs, it is not difficult to see that Shimazu Hisamitsu admires the extremely talented Saigo Kinosuke.

However... there is an irreconcilable conflict between the two of them.

To sum it up in one sentence - Shimazu Hisamitsu is from the public-military fusion school, while Saigo Kinosuke is from the king-respecting and barbarian-repelling school.

Although Saigo Kinnosuke is a staunch supporter of the idea of ​​respecting war, he is different from the mad dogs of the Choshu Domain.

In his opinion, the barbarians will definitely fight, but it will definitely not be a head-on fight with their steam battleships, Kruger cannons and Gatling guns with samurai swords.

Instead, we should open our country to learn advanced knowledge and technology from foreign countries. After we have steam battleships, Krug cannons, and Gatling guns on our side, we can then expel the barbarians step by step.

This is the so-called "learning from the barbarians and developing skills to control the barbarians".

Therefore, Saigo Yoshinosuke's proposition is very clear and runs through all the time, that is, "joining the vertical and horizontal", that is, the court and the shogunate, plus powerful daimyo and their important ministers, establish a unified system for the whole country, bridging the "founding of the country" and "repelling the foreigners" opposition between.

In contrast, Shimazu Hisamitsu intended to promote the "public-military integration" led by the imperial court, shogunate and Satsuma domain, and tried to make "founding the country" a major national policy. As for "repelling the foreigners", it was not within his political map.

The huge difference in ideas made the two dislike each other.

However, due to Saigo Kinnosuke's high popularity within the domain and his extraordinary talents, Shimazu Hisamitsu finally chose to reuse him.

Okubo Kazzo is proficient in politics, and Saigo Yoshiyuki is good at military affairs.

Therefore, Shimazu Hisamitsu left Okubo Ichizo in the domain to manage the affairs, and sent Saigo Kinosuke to sit in Kyoto and let him command the Satsuma army currently stationed in Kyoto.

…

…

"There are currently about 1,700 Satsuma troops stationed in Kyoto, and the Choshu Army's strength is around 1,500. We only have 1,000 Aizu troops and 100 Shinsengumi here..."

As soon as Matsudaira Yongho finished speaking, Qingden shrugged and said half-jokingly:

"The difference in military strength is huge..."

Matsudaira Yongbo smiled:

"Indeed. Overall, the Satsuma Army is the strongest. However, in order to prepare for the war with the British Empire, the Satsuma Army may evacuate Kyoto at any time."

Qingden raised his eyebrows and murmured:

"The 'Mai Incident'..."

On September 14, the second year of Bunjiu (1862), four British people rode horses on the Tokaido Road in Shengmai Village.

Among them were Charles Richardson, a businessman who traveled between Yokohama and Shanghai, his clerk Clark, and a British businessman, Mr. and Mrs. Marshall.

On the way, they met Shimazu Hisamitsu and his troops who were on their way back to the country after raising troops to go to Edo and forcing the shogunate to agree to "set up five elders to support Hitotsubashi Keki and Matsudaira Harugaku" and other conditions.

According to the practice of the Edo period, civilians must kneel down and give way if they encounter the daimyo's queue, but the four British people refused to do so anyway, and this was considered a rude act towards the daimyo.

In the meantime, Mrs. Marshall's horse was suddenly frightened and rushed into the queue. Narahara Yoshi of the Shimadzu Guards immediately pulled out his knife and wounded Charles. The guards who came next chopped him to death and seriously injured the other two soldiers. Only Marshall was injured. The lady was not injured.

After the incident, the British Empire demanded that the shogunate and Satsuma domain punish the perpetrators and pay compensation.

Although the whole incident had nothing to do with the shogunate, the shogunate, knowing that the British were powerful, still paid a compensation of 100,000 pounds.

However, the perpetrator, the Satsuma Domain, refused the British request.

How could the UK, which is accustomed to being invincible and domineering, endure such a bad breath?

For a moment, Zhan Yun made up his mind, and the smell of gunpowder was strong.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see: If the Satsuma clan still refuses to give in, then there will definitely be a battle between the Satsuma clan!

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Asking for a monthly ticket! Please vote for recommendation! (Leopard head crying.jpg)

Katsura Kogoro's first appearance is at the end of Chapter 29 of Volume 2; Takasugi Shinsaku's first appearance is in Chapter 85 of Volume 2.

Shimazu Saibin has died, so for the Satsuma camp, everyone only needs to keep in mind Saigo Kinosuke who is in charge of military affairs and Okubo Kazzo who is in charge of politics.

PS: Most of the content in this chapter is historical facts, only the following paragraphs are original by Leopard--

Not long after Saigo Kinnosuke ended his first exile, he was exiled for the second time due to conflicts with Shimazu Hisamitsu in his ideas of governing the country.

In other words, in the current timeline of this book (the beginning of 1863), it is impossible for him to control the Satsuma army stationed in Kyoto.