The Emperor of Japan is known as a lineage for eternity. It has been passed down for 110 generations now, and the imperial line has not been cut off.
There are two main reasons: First, superstition. They are gods, so how can they depose gods? Second, they have no power, so why dethrone them? Experienced the Taira Regency, Muromachi Shogunate, Kamakura Shogunate, Ashikaga Shogunate, and Toyotomi
Regent and Tokugawa shogunate, for more than a thousand years, the emperor was mostly in a "virtual king" state. Except for a few who were particularly wise and powerful, most of them had no power.
Without power, there is no money, and life is miserable! During the Azuchi-Momoyama period, the Toyotomi clan had a stone height of 1.3 million koku, but only gave the emperor 5,000 koku; during the Tokugawa shogunate period, the Tokugawa clan had a stone height of 4 million koku.
, only 50,000 shi were given to the emperor. The divine clan had a large population, and at its worst, the imperial palace only had fifty slaves, and they had to add 20% chaff to their meals.
On the surface, Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first generation general who conquered the barbarians, was quite good to the emperor. He increased his collar from 5,000 koku to 50,000 koku in one go. But that was just an appearance. In fact, he was more ruthless than the previous generals. 1
The "Regulations on Prohibition and Incorporation of Public Affairs" was enacted, depriving the emperor of all political power and additional income.
According to the "Regulations on Forbidden and Incorporated Public Households", if daimyo from various places want to meet the emperor, they must obtain the consent of the Kyoto Secretary.
The so-called Kyoto Shojidai refers to the representative of the shogunate in Kyoto. He is responsible for negotiations between the shogunate and the court, reviewing the official documents submitted by daimyo from various places to the emperor, and is also responsible for the security of Kyoto, adjudicating lawsuits in the Kinki area, and managing the towns in Kyoto, Fushimi, and Nara.
The power is very great, and it is usually held by the Shodai Daimyo who are closely related to the shogunate.
Itakura Shigemune, the current acting governor of Kyoto, is a veteran of the four dynasties who served Tokugawa Ieyasu, Tokugawa Hidetada, Tokugawa Iemitsu, and Tokugawa Ietsuna. He served as Tokugawa Hidetada's bodyguard and was loyal to the Tokugawa clan.
A hound, closely monitoring the gods in the Kyoto Imperial Palace for its master.
It's a pity that this loyal dog is old, sixty-eight years old, and is inevitably frail and sick, and he became ill during this time.
Following his father's orders, Tsunazu Shimazu sneaked into Kyoto secretly, hoping to have a private audience with the emperor. After arriving in Kyoto for more than half a month, he finally took advantage of Itakura Shigemune's illness and contacted the imperial guard, Sakonoe Major General Imadegawa Kōnori, to ask for an audience with the emperor.
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Imadegawa Kōnori was only fifteen years old this year, but he was very smart. He knew that he would be easily noticed by the shogunate over time, so he immediately ran quickly to report to the Emperor Hōkomikado.
With the consent of His Majesty the Emperor, Tsuna Shimazu, who had been in the sidelines for a long time, slipped into the Tsunei Palace like a thief.
"Shimazu Ohsumi Mori Tsunahisa bows to His Majesty the Emperor." As soon as he saw the Emperor, Tsunahisa Shimazu immediately gave him a great gift: Dohashi. His arms, knees, and forehead touched the ground. He leaned forward, raised his upper body, and raised his head high.
Buttocks.
This is a great gift in Japan. It is generally only used in two situations, to apologize or to petition. In the Ming Dynasty, this kind of etiquette was commonly known as "Five-body prostrating". In Japan at this time, if the party apologizing for the crime used the Doge seat method to apologize, generally speaking, they would be forgiven.
But at the same time, those who apologize will also be regarded as a great shame and humiliation.
However, His Majesty the Emperor is a god, and mortals would not feel ashamed if they worshiped the gods.
Seeing Shimazu Tsunahisa humbly bowing to the ground and sticking his buttocks high, Emperor Gokomikado was very satisfied. These daimyo were the three imperial families of the Tokugawa clan. The daimyo were loyal to me and knew how to give generous gifts.
When he thought of this, His Majesty the Emperor became very angry. The Tokugawa family was so crazy that they rarely went to Luoyang (Japan imitated Luoyang, the eastern capital of the Tang Dynasty, and called Kyoto Luoyang. Jingluo, powerful generals, and daimyo went there.
Meeting the emperor in Kyoto is called Shangluo).
Twenty-three years ago, the third shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu, had to go to Luo for an audience as usual. At that time, his father, Emperor Gomizuo, dressed up and prepared to overwhelm these mortals with his divine power. Unexpectedly, this Tokugawa Iemitsu was hateful.
He actually sent a wet nurse without an official position to Luo on his behalf. The emperor was so angry that he had to give her the official position of the third rank and call her "Mrs. Kasuga Bureau". Unexpectedly, the woman was not grateful and dared to treat her father.
Yi was so angry that his father abdicated the throne. Hateful, hateful!
In fact, His Majesty the Emperor misunderstood Tokugawa Iemitsu.
That woman was none other than Fuku Saito, the famous Kasuga Bureau in Japanese history. She was not only Tokugawa Iemitsu’s nanny, teacher, but also a benefactor.
The second generation shogun Tokugawa Hidetada did not like his legitimate son Tokugawa Iemitsu, but liked his concubine Tokugawa Tadanagi, and he once had the intention of abolishing his legitimate son and establishing a concubine. At that time, Tokugawa Ieyasu was still alive and living in seclusion in Junfu. Saito Fuku didn't care about his status.
He was so humble that he actually ran to Sunfu alone and asked Tokugawa Ieyasu for justice. When Tokugawa Ieyasu heard this, he was shocked and declared that it was against etiquette and law to abolish the direct descendant and establish a concubine. He immediately ordered Tokugawa Hidetada to establish Tokugawa Iemitsu as the shogun's heir.
Making Tokugawa Iemitsu's inheritance rights unshakable.
Because of such great achievements, after Tokugawa Iemitsu became a general, he listened to this wet nurse on everything and actually controlled the national politics of Japan at that time. In Tokugawa Iemitsu's view, I let such an excellent wet nurse do everything for me.
Coming to see Your Majesty is just a sign of respect for you! Why are you so angry that you abdicate? I can't understand it.
"Tai Sheng", Emperor Goko Mikado said in "Tamaune" (the emperor's voice is called Yuyin, also known as Tsurune).
Only then did Shimazu Tsunahisa dare to stand up and kneel down, and glanced at the emperor secretly. He saw him, wearing a tasseled crown on his head and a yellow-dyed royal robe, looking majestic.
The tasseled crown and the yellow-dyed royal robe are all derived from the imperial costumes of the Tang Dynasty in China, with slight modifications. The biggest difference is that the Japanese yellow robe is not embroidered with a dragon, but a phoenix. The dark pattern of the tung bamboo, unicorn and phoenix is
The symbol of the Japanese emperor is that he is the "true phoenix emperor". He does not wear a dragon robe, but a phoenix robe.
Nodding secretly, he is worthy of being the son of God. This magnanimity is much stronger than that of the shogun!
"Tsunajiu, how is your father's health?"
The voice of Emperor Goguangmei is very warm and makes people fall in love with him as soon as he hears it.
Shimazu Tsunahisa hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, I wish you good luck, and my father is in good health. He has always wanted to see your Majesty, but he was busy with business and couldn't get away, so he had to ask the humble minister to see you on his behalf."
"Well, Satsuma Mamoru is thoughtful! It's hard for you and your son to still have me in their hearts!"
"Your Majesty is the God of all Japan, and all our Japanese subjects must obey the Holy Orders," Shimazu Tsunahisa replied respectfully.
This flattery made the emperor very happy, and he said with a smile: "Is there anything else Tsunaku has to do here?"
“I am here on behalf of more than a dozen vassal states including Satsuma, Sendai, and Choshu to request Your Majesty’s permission to restore the borders of Hyuga, Shimonoseki, Hirado, Kochi, Ishinomaki, Uwajima Port, Ming Kingdom, and Korea before the lock-down order.
"Trading rights", after speaking, Shimazu Tsunahisa presented a long memorial.
Emperor Gomitsu took a look and saw that in addition to the request, there were also the signatures of sixteen famous names. Oh dear, this is incredible! The Satsuma clan has a stone height of 720,000 koku; the Sendai clan has a stone height of 620,000 koku; the Choshu clan has a stone height of 400,000 koku.
??Added together, there are 5 million koku, which is almost the same as the Tokugawa clan’s 4 million koku.
Well, this is an important force that can be used!
Emperor Hou Guangming thought this in his heart, but said in his mouth: "If I agree, but the general who conquers the barbarians refuses, what can I do?"
Shimazu Tsunahisa said seriously: "I am your Majesty's ministers, not the Tokugawa clan. As long as your Majesty gives you permission, I will dare to open the port on my own to trade with Ming Dynasty and Korea. If the shogunate obstructs it, I will not hesitate to join forces."
Get up and fight the shogunate!"
After hearing such heroic words, the young Emperor Gokoumei was so excited that he called for pen and ink and wanted to approve the reply.
"Your Majesty, wait a minute," the Emperor Hou Shuiwei suddenly appeared, "This memorial should not be approved by the Emperor, but by your sister."
Emperor Goguangmei was stunned, "Father, why is this?"
Emperor Gomizuo smiled, "If you come to approve this memorial, it will inevitably trigger a civil war in Japan and cause suffering to the people. Your sister is different if you come to approve this memorial. Half of the Tokugawa family's blood flows in her body. The Tokugawa family will not take it.
How is he?".
Emperor Gomitsu suddenly realized it, and took the memorial with him, asking his father to take him to the concubine where his sister, Emperor Meimasa, lived. He was the emperor, and he had to ask the shogunate for permission to leave the imperial palace, so he could only let his father take him there.
Unlike other royal families who shared 50,000 koku as a tribute, Emperor Meisho was half-blooded of the Tokugawa clan. After his abdication, the Tokugawa clan allocated 5,000 koku to her alone every year, so she lived a more prosperous life than her father and younger brother. The layout of the concubine
Very elegant.
"Father, why are you here?"
When he saw it was his father, the kind-hearted Emperor Mingzheng hurriedly saluted him.
"As a father, I came here to ask you to comment on this book. It doesn't need to be more, just comment on the word 'ke'."
Emperor Meisho was shocked when she opened the memorial, "Father, I have approved the memorial without authorization, but if it violates the "Laws on Prohibition and Incorporation of Public Households", I am afraid it will cause displeasure to the shogunate.
"It is precisely because it will cause them displeasure that I allow you to approve it. Your body contains half of their family's blood. They will not embarrass you." Emperor Hou Shuiwei sneered, "What, you don't want to do it for me?"
Sharing worries for your father?"
Under the pressure of his old father, Emperor Mingzheng had no choice but to give the approval a "but" word.
Seeing the word "yes", Shimazu Tsunahisa was overjoyed. After resigning from the palace, he immediately returned to Tsurumaru Castle.
With the permission of the emperor, even the abdicated Emperor Taishang, the opening of the ports of each domain has changed from "making a fuss" to "acting on orders".
Shimazu Mitsuhisa, the lord of the Satsuma Domain, Date Tadamune, the lord of the Sendai Domain, Tsunahiro Mori, the lord of the Choshu Domain, Katsushige Nabeshima, the lord of the Hizen Domain, Tadayoshi Yamauchi, the lord of the Tosa Domain, Date Hidetada, the lord of the Uwajima Domain, etc. all opened their ports one after another, and cooperated with Ming Dynasty and Korea.
trade. He also mobilized soldiers and horses and recommended Shimazu Mitsuhisa as the commander-in-chief, preparing to meet with him in battle if the imperial government did not agree.