While the two were talking, they suddenly heard the rumble of artillery fire from the east coast, and in the blink of an eye, artillery fire roared from the sky. ,
Augustus Cooper's heart palpitated, and he urgently ordered the ships to attack each other.
The seven ships were preparing for battle. The sea wind rose suddenly, the rainstorm came suddenly, and the sound of thunder continued. Each ship started hastily. It was not until an hour later that the wind stopped and the rain stopped, and the seven ships worked together to bombard them.
The British Armstrong cannon was very powerful. In less than half an hour, the Satsuma Domain's shore-based forts, assembly halls, foundries, etc. were all in ruins.
The next day, Governor Augustus Cooper led a fleet to bombard Kagoshima City again. After running out of ammunition, he withdrew.
The head of the Satsuma clan, Shimazu Hisamitsu, was extremely frightened and said: The British and barbarian cannons are powerful! British and foreign artillery power! Our three steamships, five merchant ships, all shore-based forts, the huge assembly hall, the foundry, etc. were all destroyed. A century-old foundation was destroyed in one fell swoop.
Okubori Passage of Onado Okubo: To inform the lord that since he can no longer fight, his subordinates will go to Kyoto to meet the shogun and ask for peace.
Shimazu Hisamitsu said: The British and barbarians suffered more than a hundred casualties, and the battleships were also damaged. It is not easy to seek peace at this time.
Okubo Tori Passage: Lord, for the sake of my vassal, I will go through fire and water without hesitation! Heng Nian and the difficult battle are easy, and I sincerely ask the lord to open up a wide margin and quickly release the criminal Xixiang Longsheng. Xixiang Longsheng is particularly good at military aircraft. If this person is here, this battle will never stop here!
Shimazu Hisamitsu said: Saigo Takashi is a man who is unruly and unruly! I will immediately send people to the island to urge them to make meritorious deeds. In this battle, although I have exhausted all my resources, I only managed to defeat five people. This is your achievement.
On August 17, Okubo Toshimichi entered Edo again and met with the shogun Tokugawa Iemo.
Tokugawa Iemo said: The Choshu clan and you and others are always fighting against the barbarians. If we continue to fight against the barbarians, our country will be destroyed.
Okuboli Passage: To inform the General, weapons are not as good as humans, so we can only hide them with good swords. Our vassal has already arrested the murderer. As for the British and foreigners, peace is the most important thing. I sincerely ask the General to be accommodating.
Tokugawa Iemo said: The British ask for a pension of 25,000 pounds, does your domain have enough?
Okuboli Passage: Sir Shogun, Kagoshima was reduced to rubble after the cannon fire. Our domain is unable to raise funds, so we kindly ask the general to advance the payment on our behalf.
Tokugawa Iemo said: Your domain killed the barbarians in Shengmai Village. I have paid 110,000 pounds on your behalf, and our treasury has been depleted.
Okuboli Passage: Sir Shogun, in this case, I will go to Edo, kill the barbarian envoys with my own hands, and raise the banner of resisting the barbarians; if this fails, I will cut my belly to thank the world.
Tokugawa Iemo said: The Satsuma clan is committed to the unity of public and military affairs. How could I not know this? Harmony means telling each other sincerely, and there is no need to be jealous of everything. The ronin of Choshu, Hisaka Genzui, and others, together with Sanjo Sanimi and other ministers, are urging our emperor to march in person. You quickly win over the soldiers of the Sa vassal in Beijing to protect our emperor.
Okubo Toshimichi quickly kowtowed and said: Please forgive me for being reckless and ignorant. I will obey the orders of the general and will not hesitate to die.
On that day, the shogunate Tokugawa Iemoge and the guardian of Kyoto, Matsudaira Yoshiho, received the order: after the shogunate, Ichihashi Shoki returned to Edo for more than a month, and there was no real intention to fight against the foreigners; the lord of the Aizu domain, the guardian of Kyoto, Matsudaira Yoshihochi, was sent to the river. households, thoroughly investigate the reasons, and supervise implementation.
Tokugawa Iemo said anxiously: If Lord Yongho returns to Edo, who will protect Kyoto?
Matsudaira Yongbao said: "This report to the general is my emperor's decree, and we can only act according to the order."
Tokugawa Iemo said: This matter is very strange. When we met the day before yesterday, my emperor did not reveal the slightest news. My emperor may have been bewitched by the Choshu ronin and had no choice but to postpone this matter. I will use excuses to delay it and wait and see what happens.
Songping Rongbao said: "I will obey the order of the General. I will supervise the troops of the feudal lord and wait for the day to come. I will wait for confirmation from His Majesty the Emperor."
In the middle of the night, Tokugawa Iemo received another secret edict from Emperor Takamei: Shigeki Mingjian, the person I value the most, Aizu Lieutenant General Matsudaira Yōhoya, is now ordered to return to Kanto to supervise the fight against the foreigners. In fact, it is the Choshu Domain and Sanjo Sanimi, etc. I have absolutely no intention of being forced by the ministers. I am incompetent, no one in the whole court listens to my words.
Tokugawa Iemo breathed a sigh of relief after observing the edict, and said: In this way, the White Edict is indeed a forgery. The three true and beautiful edicts are false, and the crime should be punished!
Matsudaira Yoshidao: Your Majesty General, we have a secret edict from our emperor. Please contact Satsuma Domain and Prince Nakagawa Palace Toahiko, former Sekishiro Konoe Tadayoshi, Right Minister Nijo Saikyo, etc., to reject Choshu and Sanjo Shimei. All the ministers.
Tokugawa Iemo said: This matter should not be delayed too late. Kyoto is turbulent and unpredictable. Be careful of any inadvertent actions. The secret edict was conveyed by Konoe Tadayoshi. Konoe and the Satsuma Domain have always been on good terms. The Satsuma Domain army's army, Saigo Takamori, has also arrived. Beijing, Mr. Rongbao can eliminate the fake and get the real, select and use them.
Matsudaira Yoshiho said: Thank you for your guidance, the shogun. War is about to start in Kyoto. Good or bad luck is unpredictable. I sincerely ask the shogun to return to Edo to coordinate the overall situation.
Tokugawa Iemo said: It is not the samurai's fault to retreat in the face of battle.
Songping Rongbao said: The general returns to Zhengshuo in the name of fighting the barbarians, which will be a blessing to our country.
Tokugawa Iemo said: All matters in Kyoto are handled by Mr. Rongbo.
In the early morning of September 29, 1863, the Lord of the Aizu Domain, Matsudaira Yoshiho, together with former Sekishiro Konoe Tadayoshi, right minister Nijo Saito, Prince Nakagawa Miyako Hikohiko, etc., entered the palace to pay an audience.
Emperor Xiaomei said: "The public and military forces are integrated, step by step, and work together to fight off the barbarians. Wouldn't it be wonderful!" However, Choshu, Sanjo Sanimi and others are eager for quick success, and I cannot allow them to cause trouble to the country. Therefore, I will give Lieutenant General Aizu Matsudaira Yoshihiro the right to act on his own convenience. I hope that Lieutenant General Aizu will work together with the other ministers to drive the Choshu domain to the gate. In addition, Sanjo Sanmei, Sanjo Saijichi, Mibu Jishu, Kinkoji Ryide, Higashikaze Tongxi, Shijo Takahiro, and Ze Xuanjia are all useless; Guang and his son, if they do not understand people well and employ people inappropriately, they should be punished.
Matsudaira Yoshiho accepted the order and immediately led the troops of Aizu, Satsuma, Yodo, Tokushima, Okayama and other five feudal clans to rush into the palace and forcefully take over the defense of the imperial gate.
Mao Lidingguang, the young master of Changzhou, was furious and scolded Songping Rongbao: The barbarians invaded the territory, and my domain tried its best to fight to the death. You don't go to the battlefield to kill the enemy and serve the country. Instead, you are just like a dog, and you are really a traitor and traitor.
Songping Yongbao said: Soldiers are related to the life and death of the country. Whether to engage in battle or not is not decided by the feudal lord without permission. My emperor's edict is here. If you disobey the edict, you will harm yourself and the people.
Maoli Dingguangli bowed and retreated in anger.
Sanjo Sanmei, Sanjo Saijizhi, Renshengxiu, etc. did not dare to stay in the confinement of their homes, so they followed Maori Dingguang.
The soldiers of the Changshu vassal left the capital. Emperor Xiaomei was very happy and quickly issued an edict: The previous decree was not my intention, but now it is what I expected. I hope that all the vassals will work together to help Kantung, and the country will be fine. Tokugawa Iemo, the general who conquered the barbarians, Yoshiki Hitotsubashi, the post-shogunate, Keinaga Matsudaira, the political president, and Hisamitsu Shimazu, the head of the Satsuma clan, came to Kyoto to discuss state affairs.
Tokugawa Iemo received the order and quickly summoned Hitotsubashi Keiki, Matsudaira Keinaga and others for discussion.
Ichihashi said happily: "To inform the shogun, Sanjo Sanimi, Mori Sadahiro and others have been expelled, and the situation in Kyoto has been calmed down." In the Battle of Saying, the British and barbarians suffered heavy casualties. The top priority was to prevent the British and barbarians from coming back and starting another war.
