Chapter 187 The Meiji Restoration of Japan (9)
Ii Naobi took the title of stealing bridle, and immediately joined the Odaisho and Honjuin to announce the death of Tokugawa Iesada, the 13th general to conquer the barbarians, and elected the crown prince and Lord of the Kishu domain, Tokugawa Iemo, as the fourteenth general to conquer the barbarians. General.
When the dust settled, the imperial concubine was ordained as a nun, named Tianzhangyuan. She ate fasting and chanted Buddha's name every day, which was quite peaceful.
At the beginning of Tokugawa Iemo's succession, he summoned the shogunate boss Ii Naomi and said, "Ii sweeps his head and hears that the person who will deliver the secret edict will be imprisoned and tortured. Is this true?"
Ii Naobi said: This is indeed the case! The shogunate is in charge of state affairs, and it is the mission to punish Zang and others.
Tokugawa Iemo said: "You and I will go to Ooku."
Jing Yi Naobi asked: Mr. Gongfang, is there something important?
Tokugawa Iemo said: Go see Lord Tenjoin and ask about state affairs.
When the shogunate and his elders came to visit, Tianzhang Academy was very surprised and said to Ii Naobi: "You are like this, what's the important thing?"
Jingyi Naobi said: I have something to ask, and I dare to ask Mr. Tianzhangyuan for advice.
Tianzhang Yuan said: Speak!
Ii Naomidao; Satsuma domain scholar Saigo Takamori, do you know Tenjoin-sama?
Tianzhang Yuan said: I know it!
Jingyi Naobi said: Xixiang Longsheng was also involved in the case of the imperial court issuing a secret edict. Does Lord Tianzhang know his whereabouts?
Tianzhangyuan said: I don’t know!
Ii Naobi asked: Is it true?
Tokugawa Iemo said sternly: Is the Ii Sobu arresting this person, and will he be tortured to extract a confession?
Ii Naobi said: I think that the imperial court secretly issuing an edict is tantamount to declaring war on the Tokugawa shogunate!
Tokugawa Iemo said: Declaration of war? The imperial court dared to ignore the "Forbidden and Public Laws"?
Jingyi Naobi said: From ancient times to the present, for more than 600 years, our country's national affairs have been governed by the generals who conquered the barbarians. But now the imperial court secretly colludes with the lords of various vassals in an attempt to overthrow this established pattern. Isn't this a declaration of war?
Tianzhang Yuan said: Master Jing Yi, does he have any good plan to deal with it?
Jingyi Naobi said: If we continue to ignore it, a big disaster is coming! At this critical juncture, any person with ulterior motives, no matter the lord of the vassal or the ministers of the imperial court, will be arrested and punished immediately if they find out the real evidence. They will kill and chop when they should, and they will never be tolerated! Lord Tenjoin is now the head of Ooku Odai and has a great status. No matter what happens from now on, Lord Tenzōin must put the affairs of the Tokugawa clan first.
Tianzhang Yuan said: That is inevitable! I once high-fived my Lord and swore that the Tokugawa clan would be the most important thing in everything. Not only that, the Lord also ordered the Ai family to assist General Iemo.
Jingyi Naobi hurriedly said: This matter has been decided for a long time, and I don’t dare to bother Mr. Tianzhangyuan.
Tianzhang Yuan said: What do you mean by this?
Ii Naomi said: Lord Tokugawa Keiyori, the lord of Tian'an Domain, has assumed the post of Shogun and is temporarily in charge of the shogunate.
Tokugawa Iemo said: No! Lord Tianzhangyuan assists the imperial government, which is the will of Lord Gongfang in ancient times! We must comply with it!
Jingyi Naobi said: Recently, I have been involved in trivial matters and lost everything. I sincerely ask Master Tianzhangyuan to remember his faults and forget his faults and forgive me. Since this is the legacy of the ancient Master Gongfang, I must obey it!
Tianzhang Yuan said: "Previously, Jing Yi swept the heads of the department to promote talents and rectify the vassal administration; all the money was spent to support the common people." Your love for the people is known to all the world. Today's secret edict case involves a wide range of things; Jing Yisao must enforce the law impartially, accurately determine punishment, and spare others first. Indiscriminate killing will lead to endless troubles.
Jingyi Naobi said: Master Tianzhangyuan’s good words must be remembered.
After Ii Naobi had paid an audience with Tianzhang, he immediately ordered Quan Sheng, the old central minister of the shogunate, to rush to Beijing to arrest the criminals and then ask the imperial court to order Xu Kaiguo.
Mabe Kansheng said: Sir Ii, and all the ministers in the imperial court, are you moving? Mr. Mito, do you want to kill him?
Ii Naobi said: All the ministers of the family should pick up the branches and identify them, arrest them and treat them; Mito domain officials should not kill them for the time being. I used secret edicts as bait to force the court to sign a treaty and found the country. In addition, Jiutiao Shangzhong is dedicated to founding the country, and his position as Guanbai must be fought for.
Mabu explains: Even if there is solid evidence, what if the court pushes back and denies it?
Ii Naobi said: If necessary, the shogunate can also stop allocating the forbidden royal materials given to the court.
Ando Nobumasado: Reporting to Mr. Ii, Choshu secret report, Choshu feudal scholar Yoshida Shoin repeatedly said that the shogunate used to flatter foreign barbarians as the most important plan for the world, did not think about the national danger, did not care about the national humiliation, did not obey the decree of heaven, the general's crime would not be tolerated in heaven and earth. , people and gods are angry. Kill a treacherous person and everything in the world will be settled.
Ii Naobi said: Yoshida's evil words confuse the public and poison the common people. An order was sent to the Lord of the Choshu Domain to arrest Yoshida Shoin immediately. I didn't wait for the time. Master Mabe quickly went to the capital with the secret order to search. After searching for the key criminals of each vassal, he begged Your Majesty to grant the founding of the country.
On October 30, 1858, Mabe Senkatsu arrived in Kyoto, met with Sakai Tadayoshi, the chief minister of Kyoto, and Nagano chief baker of the Hikone domain, and arrested the Mito domain officials Ukai Kichizaemon, Ukai Kokichi, Kondo Shigeemon, and Mugane Iyo. Thirteen people including Nosuke, Mito Clan clan Lao Yasushima Taitō, Obama Clan feudal lord Umeda Unhama, and Echizen Clan clan lord Hashimoto Sauchi.
The imperial guard Tadashi came to negotiate urgently and said: "Master Mabe cannot arrest the vassal people in the city at will without your Majesty's order."
Mabe Kanshengdao: Your Majesty has entrusted the great government to the shogunate. According to the fourth paragraph of "The Laws of the Samurai", those who are rebellious or murderous should be arrested and prosecuted as soon as possible. Umeda Unhama, a member of the Obama Domain, and others are causing trouble and arrogantly resisting the barbarians, so they should be arrested. If you want to release people, unless your Majesty issues an explicit edict.
Konoe Zhongxi said: "How can we easily issue an edict for such a trivial matter?" Your Majesty has issued an edict that the Americans and barbarians want to be invited, but the situation is extremely difficult. The support of people's hearts and the safety of the country depend on this. Your Majesty, I think deeply, I am increasingly worried. What I did in the past years when I went to the fields is no longer in line with the Holy Will. Now that I have reopened the ports and formed trusts with various barbarians, I am afraid that it will cause harm to future generations. It will not be easy to deal with it lightly. It is advisable to discuss the three families and the princes to advise on appropriate measures. Whether to found the country or to fight off the barbarians has not yet been decided; Lord Mabe has arrested the feudal lords, which is extremely illegal.
Mabu Quansheng threw out the secret edicts that he had searched and said: "The imperial court has overstepped its bounds and is good at issuing secret edicts. How does Master Guan Bai explain it?"
Konoe Tadahiro said: "The handwriting is illegible and there is no seal from His Majesty. Who is trying to make a mistake?"
Mabe Kansheng said: We have found out the true and false of the Mito family elder, and Master Guanbai also knows it well. According to the seventh paragraph of "Prohibitions and Laws of the Public Family", those who hold official positions in the Wu family can do things other than serving as officials in the public family. General Zhengyi believed that Kujo-sama was the most suitable person for the post of Guan Bai in the imperial court.
Konoe Tadahiro said: Last month, Lord Kujo Naotada retired due to illness, and it was not because of the imperial court's dismissal.
Mabe Kanshengdao: Konoe-sama also knows the right and wrong. However, the Lord wants to reject the barbarians, and the shogunate firmly supports him, and the officials can change their wishes. However, unless the public and military are unified and the top and bottom are of the same mind, it will not be effective. Looking forward to the day of reprieve. Thirteen criminals have been arrested, and they will be judged later after being interrogated.
Konoe Tadahiro said: Don't let the prison rise suddenly. Please stop it, Lord Mabe!
Mabe Kansho said: "I have found out the real evidence. The monk Getsho, who is in charge of Kiyomizu Temple, does not knock wooden fish or recite Buddhist scriptures. Instead, he colludes with Takaji, Sanjo and his retainers, colludes with the robbers who broke away from the feudal clan, disobeys the shogunate, and conspires to fight against the barbarians." Konoe-sama must go to the imperial court. Your Majesty, Taige Ying Si Zhengtong, and the former Minister of Internal Affairs are really lax in their three rules. You cannot make up for your faults without becoming a monk.
Konoe Tadayoshi said angrily: You, a minister, have no court in mind, so you are so arrogant, how can it be justified!
