Chapter 187 The Meiji Restoration of Japan (3)
Xixiang Longsheng hit a wall and became depressed.
Infantry supervisor Okubo Toshimichi advised: My lord has the world in mind and is waiting for the opportunity to act!
Xixiang Takamori said: "Suddenly raising troops, although blessings and disasters are unpredictable, but sitting there waiting for death, how can you have the courage of a warrior?" After Abu Masahiro resigned, the founding faction became aggressive; in the long run, it would be difficult for them to protect themselves, let alone respect the emperor and fight off the barbarians.
After hearing the news, Satsuma Domain scholar Komatsu rushed over with a sword and said: "My lord, the combination of public and military forces, and our respect for the emperor and the fight against the barbarians are all intended to hijack the power of the shogunate." However, as soon as the soldiers are opened, life and death will be decided. The sword must not be unsheathed easily. Wouldn't it be great to see the oars and oars disappear into ashes while talking and laughing?
Okubo Tori Passage: If talking and laughing can bring peace to the country, wouldn't the fifty samurai of Saigo's loyal group become mere decorations.
Xixiang Longsheng said: The day when the sword is unsheathed, the head is broken; when we are born in troubled times, we should face the difficulties. I immediately summoned a group of elite and loyal warriors. When the rooster crows, they sharpen their beards and advance twice as fast.
While the Satsuma feudal lords were waiting in arms, the Choshu feudal lords were also gearing up.
The American black ship knocked at the port, and Shoin Yoshida, a feudal lord of the Choshu domain, contacted without permission and should be killed according to the law. Abe Masahiro, a senior member of the shogunate, was so passionate about talent that he changed his sentence to confinement and was deported to his place of origin.
When Yoshida Shoin was still alive after the calamity, the Lord of the Choshu Domain, Maori Jing, came to comfort him and said: It is a blessing to our country if a national scholar returns with a complete jade.
Yoshida Shoin sighed and said: The officials are stripped of their waists, the thieves are bold and arrogant, and the loss of the country can cost hundreds of thousands. I sit on the wall and watch, feeling sad and angry.
Nagai Gaara, the most talented person in Ogi City and the guard of the Changshu domain, said: If we blindly resist the barbarians, break the treaty and start a war, our country will be defeated; learning from the barbarians and developing skills, enriching the country and strengthening the army is the way to go.
Yoshida Shoin said: Respecting diligent kings and rejecting foreign barbarians are all ways to rectify the world. Nowadays, foreign barbarians are knocking at the gate and the shogunate is poor in skills. Heroic people should gather their strength and generous people should train their hearts. With hard work and hard work, even if the sixty-six countries suffer great humiliation and suffer great harm, the two countries of Chang and Fang can still stand in the west corner, raising the hope of the world, clearing their humiliation and eliminating their troubles.
Maori Jingqindao: At the end of the 12th century AD, when the warriors were in power, the generals who conquered the barbarians used the name of loyalty to the emperor, justice, integrity, bravery, and perseverance to coerce the emperor to order the vassals; so far, it has been more than 600 years. Its roots are so deep that it is beyond the power and training of your heroes to kill them.
Yoshida Shoin said: Your lord's good words must be remembered. When the confinement period is over, I will recruit children from good families and devote my whole life to preaching, teaching and solving doubts.
Mao Li said respectfully: "Of course." The tall trees are in the shade, and there is no single tree in the forest. I wait quietly for the disciples of the Songmen to fill Changzhou.
In the early spring of the next year, after the confinement period ended, Yoshida Shoin entered the village school and taught "The Analects of Confucius", "Mencius", "The Art of War", "Historical Records", and "Zi Zhi Tong Jian" for half a year, which was very peaceful.
After class one day, Yoshida Shoin summoned his disciples such as Hisaka Gendan, Takasugi Shinsaku, Kido Takayoshi, Ito Hirobumi, Yamagata Aritomo, etc., and said: What I am talking about today are all ancient Chinese classics. The survivors of the Southern Ming Dynasty said that there would be no China after Yashan, and there would be no China after the fall of the Ming Dynasty. This is absolutely true. Our country has continued the system of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and it has indeed become better than the old.
Gendan Kusaka, the doctor of the Choshu domain, said: I have received news from Nagasaki that in recent years the Qing Dynasty has been in chaos like boiling porridge. I would like to ask my teacher, why don’t our country take advantage of the chaos and invade and grab a piece of the leftovers?
Yoshida Shoin said: One soup is too little! Whenever a hero establishes a cause in the world and plans for the world, he must first develop his ambition and strategy, observe the time, judge the opportunity, prioritize the situation, determine the situation internally, and then respond to the situation externally. For the current plan, it is better to guard the territory and make strict treaties to restrain the British and American captives. Take advantage of the opportunity to cultivate Ezo, capture Ryukyu, capture Korea, pull Manchuria, and approach India. We will use the momentum of advancement to consolidate the basis for retreat. So what the magic power has failed to do, what it has failed to do to bring fruit to the country has failed. He took Manchuria to force Russia, took over Korea to spy on the Qing Dynasty, and took Nanzhou to attack India. It is advisable to choose the easier one among the three and do it first. This is a great cause passed down from generation to generation in the world.
Kusaka Genduan said: I would like to ask my mentor, how can we calm down the current chaos? A good bird chooses a tree to roost in, and a wise minister chooses his master to serve. This is the eternal principle.
Yoshida Shoin said: No! The Tao is the common Tao of the world, the so-called unity. The national body is the body of a country, so-called independence. Monarchs, ministers, fathers and sons, husbands and wives, elders and children, friends, these five are the same in the world. Just as the righteousness of the monarchs and ministers of a dynasty is superior to that of all other countries, then one country is unique.
Everyone was confused and looked at each other in confusion.
Yoshida Shoin said again: Emperor Amaterasu's creation has been established and remains unchanged for eternity; the world is the world of one person. The general is domineering and arrogant. Recently, when contacting foreign barbarians, there have been many things that have violated the national integrity. What happened was that the officers and men of the shogunate and feudal lords had evil intentions and could not die loyally to the country.
Kusaka Gendan said: "The king is overthrown by the barbarians, it is urgent!"
Yoshida Shoin said: We respect the king and do not hesitate to make more concessions. The Maori family are ministers of the Emperor, so they serve the Emperor day and night. Those of us who are loyal and diligent to the master of the country are also loyal and diligent to the emperor. The guns and artillery of the United States and the barbarians are very powerful. Even if our country tries its best, it is difficult to resist them. The shogunate has been in existence for six hundred years and has a deep foundation. It is difficult for my earthworms to shake the trees.
Takasugi Jinzuo, a scholar of the Choshu feudal lord, said: "As a disciple, I believe that the way to serve a country is to benefit the people; the foundation of benefiting the people is to learn virtue and ability." The emperor is virtuous, making the country rich and its army strong. The foundation of a rich country lies in frugality, and the end of a rich country lies in domestic production; the foundation of a strong army is to unify people's hearts, and the end of a strong army is to make people learn foreign skills.
Yoshida Shoin greatly appreciated it and said happily: "Wow, you may be as strong as a bull, but this is a noble article and it is an article that is true to our country." Kusaka's nature is like a blazing fire. If I take a closer look, he will definitely have a place in the court in the future; Ito's eyes are like a torch, and he is endowed with heroic spirit and has the strategy to help others; Kido has the talent to achieve things, and he is someone I value; Yamagata is dumbfounded. , like a stick, I can see a leopard in my tube, but it is difficult to see the whole thing.
With the founding of the country, each vassal talked high-spiritedly against the barbarians, but privately discussed the collapse. Hota Masamizu, the leader of the Lao Zhong, was so panicked that he urgently summoned the four Lao Zhong, including Masahiro Abu, Hiroshu Kuze, Nobumasa Ando, and Tadama Makino, for discussion.
Hota Masumu said: The black ships of the U.S. and barbarians are knocking at the gate, and each vassal cleverly establishes its name and intervenes in the affairs of the shogunate forcefully; the whole country spreads its voice, so all false loans are made; it is fake for the lords and kings of the vassals to fight against the barbarians, but it is true to overthrow the shogunate and disrupt the government.
Abu Masahiro said: After six hundred years of rule, peace has lasted for a long time. It is normal for the country to open suddenly and cause waves. We have introduced Western learning, established foreign schools, martial arts schools, and the Nagasaki Naval Institute, and recruited young talents such as Katsu Kaishu, Okubo Tadahiro, and Egawa Hideryu, all for the purpose of enriching the country and the people. The national power is increasing day by day, and there is no reason for the collapse of each vassal state.
Hota Masamushi said: The feudal officials of Satsuma and Choshu have repeatedly said that the shogunate is too weak to take on major responsibilities. If we don't stop it, we may become a public slanderer. In addition, Tokugawa Saiaki, the lord of the Mito clan, vowed to fight to the death against the barbarians, Ii Naomi, the lord of the Hikone clan, insisted on founding the country, and the general who conquered the barbarians ignored the government. All these are hidden dangers that have not yet been discovered.
Abu Zhenghong said: The general who conquered the barbarians loves the people like a son and has a mellow nature. You should not make arrogant remarks. It is better to guard against the mouth of the people than to guard against the river; if the river chokes and collapses, many people will be hurt, and so will the people. I take the golden mean, wait for work with ease, and watch the changes.
Masumu Hotta said: Last year, American Townsend Harris insisted on revising the Treaty of Kanagawa, but we just delayed it, which is not a long-term solution.
Abu Masahiro said: Consul Harris is unarmed, so there is nothing to fear! If the barbarian ships don't arrive, we'll have to wait until the end.
