Chapter 187 The Meiji Restoration of Japan (37)
Edo was about to open the city without blood. Kido Takayun quickly visited Iwakura Tomomi and said: At the beginning of the new administration, there is a mixture of fish and dragons. In order to relieve the people's poverty, we need to worship the gods of heaven and earth and swear three or five articles. My emperor, prince, ministers, and princes will sign the oath. Clear aspirations to reassure the people.
Iwakura Jushi said: This is very reasonable.
After Iwakura finished speaking, he summoned the Fukui clan's official Yuri Taoshi and the Tosa clan's filial brother Fukuoka, and said: "Both of them are great talents who manage the world, benefit the people, and help the world. Tomorrow, my emperor will sacrifice to heaven and earth at the Shichen Hall. I sincerely ask the two monarchs to do their best. That is to say, I wrote three or five words for my emperor to swear an oath and clarify his will.
Fukuoka's younger brother said: "I would like to inform you, Iwakura-sama, that it is difficult to reconcile this grand ceremony with the slang of the people. Please give me some advice."
Iwakura Tomoshi said: The eight policies of the new government program proposed by Jun and Goto Shojiro are very exquisite.
With the planning of Li Zhengyi and Fukuoka Xiaodi all night long, a meeting of princes will be held at dawn. All decisions will be decided by public discussion and cannot be based on private discussions. The top and bottom will work together to promote the classics and theory. The government and military will be integrated, and even the common people will carry out their own aspirations and do not use them. People's hearts are tired; breaking old bad habits, seeking knowledge in the world, and greatly boosting the country's foundation; tributes giving way to talented people based on their deadlines are seven strategies.
Kido Takayun observed this and said: Scholars harm the country by talking empty words, and tribute soldiers must be replaced by military soldiers.
Iwakura Tomo said, "The Tokugawa clan is about to leave. When the princes said it, they didn't agree."
There are three true and beautiful ways: those who conquer soldiers can strengthen the country; those who have talents can stabilize the state and stabilize the country. Both of them can be met but cannot be sought!
On the fourteenth day of March in the fourth year of Keio, Meiji and his princes and feudal lords went to the Zichen Hall to offer sacrifices to the gods of heaven and earth. Meiji generously swore: Today, when the government of the Ying Dynasty is renewed, among the billions of people in the world, there is no place for them, and I am the one who has no place for them. sin. I want to open up thousands of miles of waves, spread the power of the country in all directions, and make the world prosperous.
In order to achieve this arduous goal, I must bind my people with five oaths: 1. The meeting must be held widely, and all decisions will be decided by the public discussion; 2. The superiors and officials must work together to display scriptures; 3. The ministers and the Wu family are of one mind, so that the common people, It is necessary to enable everyone to achieve his or her ambitions and to be tireless; fourth, break the bad habits of the past and establish the justice of heaven and earth; fifth, seek knowledge in the world and greatly invigorate the foundation of the emperor.
In order to carry out unprecedented changes in our country, I must go before others and swear an oath to the gods of heaven and earth to establish the order of the country and to establish a way to protect all people. I hope that all the ministers in Hebei will also take this idea into consideration and work together as one.
The lord of the Satsuma clan, Shimazu Hisamitsu, the lord of the Choshu clan, Mori Akiko, and the lord of the Tosa clan, Yamauchi Do, were all very sad to hear this.
Maori Jingqin sighed and said: It has been more than ten years since the king's fall. Now the dynasty has been completed. The old order of our vassals must also be changed. You two should take care of yourself.
Shimazu Hisamitsu, Mori Kyoukin, Yamauchi-do, etc. had been planning for half a year, and they all sang together: I will bow my head and bow again, remembering that the imperial court must not lose its power in one day, and its power cannot be lost in one day. Since the founding of the country by Emperor Zhaolin, the imperial system has been inexhaustible for eternity, and all the people in the world belong to him and are his subjects. This is the general outline. Whether it is given or taken away, the subordinates are maintained by their titles and salaries, their size cannot be privately owned, and no one can hide it privately. This is great power.
In the past, when the imperial court controlled the country, it always followed this path. The saint bows down to him, so the name and reality stand side by side, and the world is at peace. Since the middle of the twelfth century, the rule of law has been weakened, and those who strive for power and control have come one after another. Those who privately steal their land from their own people, more than half of the world, will gradually become more powerful, devouring and plundering them. The imperial court had no body to guard and no power to exercise, so it could not control it.
Traitors multiply, and the weak prey on the strong. The big ones are like dozens of states, and the small ones are like raising thousands of people. As the so-called shogunate does, the people of the land grant private rights to them without authorization in order to support their power. As a result, the imperial court only had a false reputation, and even in joy and sorrow, they all admired the breath of the shogunate. The current is so extreme that it cannot return to the sky, and it has been here for more than 600 years.
However, in the process, they often pretended to be the emperor and concealed their private interests and the stains of the land and the people. This was due to the eternal righteousness of the emperor and his ministers and the status of superiors and subordinates.
Nowadays, the great government is restored, and people are personally responsible for the government affairs. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and it cannot be called a name but not a reality. To raise the truth, don't first clarify the righteousness and rectify the name.
In the past, when the Tokugawa clan rose, half of the old clans in the country were in the world, and many families were established as a result. However, regardless of whether the land and people were affected by the imperial court, the practice has been carried out for a long time to this day. It may be said in the world that this was obtained by the ancestor Feng Dy. Alas! This is no different from recruiting troops into the official treasury to plunder property. But it is said that this is gained by risking one's life?
Those who enter the warehouse will be known to be thieves. As for those who plunder land and people, the world will not be surprised. What a pity, the confusion of names.
Now we are looking for Pi Xin's governance. The general position and the great power should not be given the slightest leniency. The land that I live in is the land of the Emperor, and the people that I pastor are the people of the Emperor. How can I own it privately? I would like to collect the editions and submit them now, hoping that the imperial court will deal with them. Give to those who deserve it, and take it from those who deserve it.
It is more appropriate to issue an edict to change the status of all vassal territories. From then on, the system, law, punishment, military administration, and even the production of military uniforms and equipment should all come from the imperial court. All affairs in the world, no matter how big or small, should be brought into line. This is the urgent task of the imperial court today, and it is also the responsibility of the ministers.
Therefore, I dare to express my disdain, regardless of being dishonorable or inferior. Fortunately, the sun is shining brightly! The ministers and others were frightened, bowed their heads, and then bowed to the table.
first month
Lieutenant General, Prime Minister of Choshu Domain Mori Jingqin
Major General Shimazu Hisamitsu of Satsuma Domain
Major General of the Tosa Domain
Major General Nadai Nabeshima of Saga Domain
Meiji took over and was very happy. He summoned the presidents including Prince Sugawa Miya Chihito, Taisei Minister Sanjo Sanmi, Government Aide Nakayama Tadano, Vice President Iwakura Tomomi, various feudal lords' daimyo and president bureau advisors Kido Takayoshi, Okubo Toshimichi, Fukuoka Xiaodi, Yuri Taoshi and others.
Meiji said: On this occasion of renewal, if we want to protect the trillions internally and confront other countries externally, we should make the name consistent with the reality and unify the government orders. I am very pleased to hear the words of Lieutenant General Mori, Major General Shimazu, Major General Yamauchi, and Major General Nabeshima.
Iwakura Ju said: "Your Majesty, since all the famous books and books have been returned, the original vassal has become a fictitious name. Remove the fictitious and make it real, abolish the vassal and establish counties, and return all the government orders to the imperial court. It should be implemented immediately."
Meiji said: Now that feudal lords have been abolished and turned into counties, redundancy will be eliminated and things will be simplified, so that the disadvantages of being in name only but not real will be eliminated, and there will be no need to worry about divergent government orders. You and other ministers must understand my intention.
Three true and beautiful ways: After the feudal lords return their official books, they should be informed of the affairs of the vassal, so that they can perform their duties and do their best. In the long run, the country will prosper.
Meiji said: "However, the attack has been carried out for hundreds of years, and it may be in name but not in reality. How can we protect billions of dollars and confront other countries?" I am deeply saddened by this!
You Li Zhengyi said: Your Majesty, only through the establishment of industry and industry can the country be rich and the army strong; only by the country being rich and the army strong can it stand in the forest of the world.
Kido Takayoshi said: "Your Majesty, the Choshu feudal lord Yoshida Shoin once said that for the present plan, it is better to guard the territory and make strict treaties." Take advantage of the opportunity to capture Ryukyu, Korea, Manchuria, and India, so as to expand the momentum of advancement and consolidate the base of retreat. The subordinates believe that the immediate goal is to conquer North Korea as the top priority.
Iwakura Tomoshi said: The civil strife has not yet been determined, so we should not provoke it easily. The Qing Dynasty and North Korea have had good relations with my country since ancient times, and are especially close neighbors. However, the Qing Dynasty has been in decline in recent years, and North Korea's victory is weak and small. However, since we are in Asia and have the same culture as ours, we should send envoys quickly to repair the old and become a powerful force.
Three true and beautiful ways: Our king's government has returned to normal, and I sent a note to North Korea, but there has been no reply for a long time. Korea is a vassal state of the Qing Dynasty. Our advance envoys have been sent to the Qing Dynasty to conclude a treaty. The procedures are all in place, and they can directly contact the King of Korea on their way back. Now that the equality between our country and the Qing Dynasty has been established, Korea will naturally be lowered to a lower level. Use the state's etiquette to present it, and there should be no objections.
Meiji said: Our country and the Qing Dynasty are separated by a strip of water, so we should have exchanges, so we went to negotiate with the foreign minister Yanagihara Qianguang.
