Just as Xiao Letian started the dinner of the day, another banquet was also going on in the Southwest Allied Forces camp outside Osaka City, but the atmosphere was much bleak, and the dishes were not at all in line with the status of the distinguished guests at the banquet.
Important generals such as the commander-in-chief of the coalition forces, Saigo Takamori and Yamagata Aritomo, are now sitting respectfully. The four men in rich attire at the main table are the real bosses of the Overthrow Sect and the lords of the four southwest vassals.
The lord of Tosa Domain, Yamauchi Eido, was the previous lord of Ryoma Sakamoto and Shintaro Nakaoka. When Ryoma Sakamoto left the domain, he almost died in his hands.
Nabeshima of the Hizen Domain was the most powerful, and he was the weakest among the four fallen feudal clans.
Choshu Domain Moori Gentoku, the famous Maori family does not need too much introduction. Since the Warring States Period, this was a famous name that could compete with Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu, and Choshu Domain is known as Japan. The birthplace of the modern army, a group of warlords represented by Shanxian Youpeng came from here.
Tadayoshi Shimazu of the Satsuma Domain was the most thorough among the Japanese feudal lords in the study of Western learning. Japan’s earliest naval school was built here, and the Satsuma Domain also raised funds to buy steamships from the West. It is said that this is the site of the Japanese Navy. The place of origin is no exaggeration.
The essence of the fallen forces gathered here, which should have been a grand feast to celebrate, but instead it made the war miserable.
Not only were the four feudal lords gathered to overthrow the curtain, but the shogunate also sent the hostage Okouchi as a representative to attend. It seemed that under the suppression of the fierce dragon Xiao Letian, the local snakes finally gave up their previous suspicions and chose temporary cooperation.
The bottles of sake on the low table were not moving much, and the slices of fish looked so listless. The dancing candlelight made people's shadows look like ghosts, and the generals who knelt on the ground were sweating profusely.
In the end, it was Nabeshima Naoda who was the first to speak irritably, "Yaga, is this the result of your victory? The 30,000 coalition troops were wiped out, and the few remaining survivors were frightened... Do you know that this is the result of your victory?" Has the hard work of several generations of feudal lords been condensed? Your heads should really be chopped off..."
"Hai... please calm down, Your Majesty, we will have a caesarean section to apologize." Xixiang and the others' foreheads were touching the ground and they did not dare to refute.
"If you want to die, it's not that simple..." Mouri Gentoku stood up and kicked Yamagata Yutomo, "Do you want to blame the mess on the lord? If you want to die, you have to solve the crisis in front of me..."
"Idiots, they are all idiots... especially you, Shanxian County. When you saw Xiao Letian's army going into battle, why didn't you retreat immediately? Why did you still gamble? If it weren't for your stupidity, how could Takasugi Shinsaku die? I really chose Wrong person..."
"Hai...Hai...Chen Wan is dead. When this incident subsides, I will definitely perform a caesarean section to apologize to Takasugi-kun."
"That's all, that's all... It's useless to say this now. Even the French would shy away from Xiao Letian, so our defeat is reasonable..." At this time, the most cunning and cunning Yamauchi Tang spoke up. This alcoholic The fateful Lord of the Tosa Domain had already drank two bottles of sake, but his eyes were still shining.
"Before the battle, we did not expect that Xiao Letian would directly send troops to intervene, let alone that he would adopt a neutral stance of not helping the two sides. I am sure that if our Southwest Allied Forces had the upper hand at that time, his artillery would definitely attack without mercy. We fired..."
"The reasons are nothing more than two points. The first is that we previously rejected his proposal to send troops directly, which made him gradually abandon his attitude towards our alliance... and the second point is probably that a unified and powerful Japan does not suit his needs. The more chaotic we are, the more beneficial it will be to him..."
"Hey... the world has really changed. Ever since the Black Ship appeared, it has been very difficult for us to solve domestic problems on our own. The French have to intervene, and Xiao Letian has to intervene. From now on, the Americans, the British People, Russians and even the Qing Dynasty may also intervene..."
"Time waits for us not. From today on, we can't take another wrong step, because one wrong step may mean that we will never be able to turn over."
Young Shimazu Tadayoshi continued, "Yes, we did not expect Xiao Letian to intervene before, so it is understandable that we were not prepared and suffered a failure, but when the war is over, it is very unwise to continue to anger him..."
"Lord Taiga, let's put aside the grudge between our two families for now. I just want to ask you why you sent the White Tiger boy to assassinate Ryoma Sakamoto. The shogunate must be responsible for the anger behind Xiao Letian."
The political representative of Ogauchi is General Tokugawa Yoshiki. Questioning him is equivalent to questioning the general. The samurai behind Lord Oga suddenly glared and held his hand on the hilt of his sword.
"Master Shimazu, please be careful. The White Tiger boy was incited by the Kirigakure kid, and the Kirigakure kid has long since become a wanted criminal. What's more, the White Tiger boy has already apologized to Xiao Letian by caesarean section. He did not allow him to do it again." It’s not that we don’t have an attitude…”
"What about the assassination of Emperor Tongzhi? Who did it? At least we won't be stupid enough to assassinate the emperor of the Qing Dynasty. This will trigger a war." Shimazu Tadayoshi shouted sharply.
"Nani, do you doubt our shogunate? What good will it do to us to kill Emperor Tongzhi? I think you are the most suspicious and want to put the blame on our shogunate..."
The two of them immediately started to quarrel, glaring at each other with no words, and the big tent was in chaos.
"It's a stupid quarrel. Since neither of us is suspicious, could it be someone else, such as a Frenchman or Xiao Letian himself..." Yamauchi Tang suddenly spoke and silenced everyone, and there was a dead silence in the big tent. .
Yes, assassinating Emperor Tongzhi was not beneficial to either side. On the contrary, it was more beneficial to the French and Xiao Letian. The French were eager to escalate the war. After all, the victims were Asians. For Xiao Letian, an unsuccessful assassination was even more beneficial. It can provide him with an excuse to stay in Japan for a long time.
Everyone took a breath of air-conditioning. If things were really as analyzed by Yamauchi Hall, then the situation would be difficult to control.
At this moment, a samurai came out of the big tent, "Sir, Ito Hirobumi would like to see you."
"Wrong, Xiao Letian has just pried open the assassin's mouth, and the murderer behind the scenes has been found...it's still the Kirigakure brat." Ito Hirobumi broke in directly without waiting for a summons from the tent.
After saluting the four daimyo, Ito said, "It's the Kirigakure kid. Judging from the results of the interrogation, the Kirigakure kid is now in her own line. She has a ninja army that belongs only to him...and I doubt it." There are other forces behind this woman supporting her..."
"Nani, is it this woman again?" A familiar voice suddenly came from behind the four daimyo. When the samurai opened the sliding door, Shogun Tokugawa Yoshiki appeared in front of everyone.
"General." Everyone exclaimed, never expecting that the general would actually come to the coalition camp, and no one knew it.
Almost subconsciously, the samurai of the Southwest Army wanted to draw their swords, but the four daimyo quickly stopped their men. "Baga, you dare to swing your sword at the general. This is disrespectful... stand down."
The Japanese nation is like this. They respect superiors and inferiors very much. As long as your status is high enough, they will respect you even if you are an enemy. If your status is not high enough, even your subordinates can humiliate you at will.
In their minds, there is no contradiction between the two armies fighting for profit on the battlefield, and the respect between the two sides in social situations to observe etiquette.
Real history also proves this. In the Boshin War, even the Aizu clan that resisted the most accumulated civilians and soldiers died in the end. The defeated Matsudaira Yōho was not killed, but was transferred to Tottori. The feudal status of the nobility remained unchanged.
As for Tokugawa Yoshiki, the great general, after the Boshin War, he was transferred to Sunfu Castle and enjoyed the preferential treatment of 700,000 koku. This is Japan. Everything is for the nobles. It is completely different from the previous dynasties of China. The kind of revolution in which the common people overthrew the nobility.
If the real history changes and the four feudal lords fail to overthrow the Boshin War, then the four feudal lords will not die. At most, they will transfer their fiefdoms and reduce their treatment.
"See the shogun." Under the leadership of the four feudal lords, everyone knelt on the tatami and saluted the general. After everyone stood up, Nabeshima Naohao was the first to ask, "Why did the shogun appear here? Why don't we know anything about it?" Affection."
Yamauchi Eido smiled and said, "I came in to protect the general, because now it has reached the point where Japan will be destroyed if it does not unite... What do you think, Ito-kun?"
Ito Hirobumi is very nervous now. This feeling is the same as the spiritual shock when he saw the prosperous Thames River for the first time. This is the feeling before the turn of fate.
Ito Hirobumi took two deep breaths and said with a smile, "Yamauchi-sama is a bit alarmist. Although Japan's national fortunes are not going well now, it is not yet at the point of national subjugation. If you think the French and Xiao Letian are Japan's enemies, I think you are a bit exaggerated." ”
"No, no, no, I didn't say the French, I was talking about Xiao Letian... Sakamoto Ryoma and you, aren't you the future prime minister of Japan that Xiao Letian identifies? He wants to transform Japan as he imagined, and he knows The Qing Dynasty is too big to move with its current power, so Japan must be used as a pilot to see whether his theory can succeed..."
"Isn't what I said right? Don't challenge my patience. I can't deal with Xiao Letian, but I can deal with you. Ito-kun, don't forget that you are a Japanese, and don't forget why you left the UK in advance. Coming back..."
As expected, he is the most cunning and cunning one among the four fallen sects, and his words are as sharp as a knife. The young Ito Hirobumi is no match for him now.
But you have to bite the bullet and go forward. If you want to transform Japan and create the glory of civil servants' rule, you can't retreat now and you must move forward.
