After staying in Gaoyou for a few days, Dong Shuheng finally had to continue his journey.
In the room, Du Ji, who was wearing a simple bun and decent work clothes, was helping Dong Shuheng pack his personal belongings, like a considerate little maid.
Women who do housework are more attractive, especially a Japanese woman.
…
Kagoshima Castle.
After Qi Bin arranged the fleet and marine brigade at Ibusuki Base.
Finally returned to my hometown, Sakurajima is still so beautiful, April and May are the seasons when cherry blossoms bloom.
Satsuma is located in the south, and the cherry blossoms bloom earlier than in Edo.
The cherry blossoms on Sakurajima are at their peak now, as if flames are surrounding this cone-shaped volcanic island.
Qi Bin stood on a small traffic boat at the base, greedily admiring the surrounding scenery.
It's like meeting an old friend I haven't seen for many years and wanting to hold each other's hand.
Kagoshima Castle has been rebuilt long ago and still uses a large number of wooden structures.
It's just that the factories that Qi Bin built have long since disappeared, and the whole city has returned to its original simplicity.
Qi Bin felt as if he had never appeared here before.
On a beautiful hillside on the edge of Kagoshima, a huge academy rose from the ground.
This school palace is built along the hillside and faces the bay.
The entire academic palace can be seen from the sea.
Qi Bin knew that his father had devoted all his efforts to build this academy. In order to build this academy, his former father Shimazu Qiheke almost spent all the savings of the Shimazu family.
The reason why he is his former father is because Qi Bin has been expelled from the Shimadzu family a long time ago. The Chinese surname he has given himself now is "Qi". His name is Qi Bin.
It is said that the beams and columns in the magnificent academy hall were made of huge wood transported from the Far East.
The transportation boat docked at the pier, and Qi Bin took a guard to the deserted pier. The Shimadzu family members had been waiting on the shore for a long time.
In order to cooperate with the blockade order of the Renaissance Army, Shimazu Qihe did not dare to slack off. The soldiers of the Satsuma Domain had already cleared the docks and all ships were blocked in the port.
Qi Bin doesn't want the outside world to know about the First Fleet's entry into Ibusuki Castle for the time being.
In order to maintain confidentiality, the First Fleet avoided the main waterway from Naha Port to Nagasaki and directly inserted diagonally into Kagoshima Bay from the west.
Today, the Japanese country is still in a state of isolation.
In addition to Chinese merchant ships that can dock at Edo of Japan and several designated ports, merchant ships from other countries can dock at Nagasaki.
In addition, Ryukyu Naha has now been built as a free port by the Renaissance Army. Almost all foreign merchant ships pass through Naha Port and then go to Nagasaki.
The Port of Naha has become an important shipping center in the Western Pacific region.
Many Western companies have established their Asian branches here, but of course it is not as good as Hong Kong Island in the south.
But Naha Port also has its own advantages, that is, it is larger in area and is located on a maritime crossroads.
This is the only way to go to Japan.
At the speed of the First Fleet, it is completely possible to avoid these foreign merchant ships by sailing at night.
As long as you enter Ibusuki, it is even less likely that the news will be leaked.
This is the military base of the Renaissance Army, and not even a bird can fly out.
Qi Bin met his father Shimazu Qi Xing in the academy, who had severed ties with him.
"Lord." When Qi Bin saw his elderly father, he bowed and said. This was a diplomatic courtesy, not a courtesy for a son to enter his father's house.
Qi Bin is showing his identity. He is now a special envoy sent by the State.
"I've met special envoys before." Sure enough, Shimazu Qixing gave the courtesy of a foreign domain meeting a special envoy from the superior country.
After seeing the ceremony, the two knelt down and sat on both sides of a low table. After the maid brought the tea, she bowed and slowly left the room, closing the door tightly.
This room serves as the office of the academy's sake brewer. Shimazu Saiki currently serves as the Satsuma Gakuin's sake brewer.
The entire Satsuma Domain is now actually under the management of the Academy.
The Satsuma people in the domain are all worshipers of this academy. They support this academy through work.
This is the model that Shimazu Saiki came up with. He believed that in this way, the Satsuma Domain could be built into the Shimadzu family's eternal legacy.
As long as Satsuma Academy is there, Satsuma Domain will be there.
Moreover, he also wanted to build this place into a holy place for Confucianism in Japan. Who would touch such a holy place? Who would dare to touch it?
There are now hundreds of students in the academy, and this number is growing every year.
As Shimazu Saiki invited great Confucians from China to serve as doctors, outstanding students could be selected to study in the Confucian Academy in Qufu, China.
This condition allowed many young people from Japan to study Confucianism to join the academy, and Satsuma Academy became more and more famous.
"The feudal lord's academy is very well built." The two went from being father and son to enemies and now they are collaborators.
After meeting, it was a bit awkward.
Qi Bin could only take the initiative to break this embarrassing situation. After all, he was here to discuss things and could not continue to be in such a stalemate.
"Thank you for the compliment, Your Majesty. It is enviable that Your Majesty has gained the trust of the Celestial Empire and has been promoted step by step." Shimazu said with a hint of ridicule.
"They are all doing things for the lord. The lord has great ambitions, and he is seeking the welfare of the people throughout East Asia. Qi Bin is just following the lord to do some good deeds." Qi Bin was not angry.
He knew that his father did not like him very much.
Now that he was back as an envoy from heaven, he had to overpower him. Naturally, he felt unhappy in his heart.
"If I had known this, why did I do it in the first place?" Shimazu said again.
"The reason why I resisted my lord at first was because Qi Bin was a frog at the bottom of a well, and it was just a little obsession in my heart. Later, my obsession was broken by my lord, and Qi Bin naturally jumped out of the well. But what Qi Bin has done now
We have the same intention as before, we still want to find a way out for the people of Japan."
Qi Bin knew what his father meant. It was a mockery of him, who had already known that he was going to join the Celestial Empire, so why did he resist and act like a mantis trying to do something like a chariot?
"Oh, so where is the way out?" Shimazu asked.
"Has the feudal lord ever heard of the Great China Circle? The way out for the Japanese country is naturally to integrate into the Great China Circle. If they are broken up by the Western Barbarians one by one, sooner or later they will be enslaved by them. Let's look at the countries in America and Africa now. How can the people become other people?
Slaves are bought and sold at will, and the land becomes other people's territory. How tragic! The feudal lord studied Confucianism and naturally knew that the Celestial Empire valued etiquette. As long as we can integrate into the Celestial Empire, the Celestial Empire will definitely treat us with courtesy and will never do what the Western Yi did.
Ordinary things.”
"Nowadays, these foreign daimyo think they can do whatever they want with the support of Sai Yi. In fact, they are just clowns. If they win, how much benefit will they give to Sai Yi? The feudal lord is high in this academy, so he should
You’ve already seen the situation clearly.”
"The envoy keeps saying that we have integrated into the Greater China Circle, and we have all become a Chinese clan. So where do we place the Yamato clan, and where do we place the Amaterasu?" Shimazu Qihe retorted.
"Hahaha, my lord, you are practicing the way of a saint now. Don't you know that Zi is silent and has strange power and chaos?" Qi Bin burst out laughing after hearing this, without giving Shimazu Qixing any face.
"Can Amaterasu's magical power withstand Saiyi's cannons? When the black ships sailed into Edo Bay a few years ago, why didn't Amaterasu summon the divine wind to overturn the black ships, but let them float in the river?
Do you want to do whatever you want in Huwan?" Qi Bin asked rhetorically.
Shimazu Qi Xing was speechless when asked. But when his son refuted it, he felt a little unhappy in his heart.
"Lord, following the Celestial Dynasty, you can safely spread Confucianism in Satsuma, and maybe you will become a great master. Isn't that good? If the offerings in Satsuma are not enough for the academy, then I can let the lord expand the fiefdom of Satsuma. This is not a problem.
No matter what the problem is, as long as Satsuma can stand on our side."
Qi Bin's tone suddenly softened and he stated the purpose of his trip.
Qi Bin's words made Shimazu Qi Xing fall into a brief thought.
He had previously declared neutrality and would not participate in the battle between the overthrown shogunate and the shogunate.
Now Qi Bin wants him to declare war on the overthrown troops.
But Satsuma's strength is no longer what it used to be.
After being renovated by Shimazu Saiki, the academic atmosphere of Satsuma Domain has become stronger.
However, the military force is not as good as before. First of all, Satsuma lost a large number of young men in the previous battles. These young men were sent to the Far East by the Renaissance Army to become laborers. Later, most of the Taito Team in the advance team of the Renaissance Army came from these
Come among people.
In addition, when these people became prosperous, they recruited many people from their hometowns to help them farm.
Therefore, the Satsuma Domain suffered a serious population loss and lacked soldiers.
In addition, in order to build the academy, Shimazu Qihe recruited a large number of craftsmen. Even now, this huge academy has not been completely completed.
When Qi Bin came just now, he saw craftsmen working at the foot of the mountain.
"Lord, I know your concerns. I don't need any soldiers from Satsuma Domain this time. I just need you to be careful about your appearance."
Qi Bin is not moving now, and it is not time for him to use force.
But he must be prepared and find a reason to send troops when the time comes.
Satsuma Domain is a good reason.
As one of the four powerful feudal lords, Satsuma Domain originally enjoyed a certain reputation among external daimyo.
In addition, Satsuma is now the base of Japanese Confucianism.
The most indispensable thing in Confucianism is the right name. When the time comes, Shimazu Qihe will be able to send troops if he can find any right name.
When Shimazu Qihe releases a message, Qi Bin can lead the revival army and march northward under the banner of the Satsuma clan to plow the court and clear the holes.
At that time, the overthrow of the shogunate and the shogunate were exhausted, and it was not yet easy to capture how he wanted to design the Japanese kingdom.
"I have to think about this matter, but don't worry, I will cooperate with the confidentiality work. News of your arrival will definitely not spread from Satsuma." Shimazu said.
At present, Shimazu Nishiki's control over the Satsuma Domain is still relatively firm.
Although his thoughts are now focused on the Academy, he can still control the entire Satsuma, because the power system of the Satsuma Domain is now based on the Academy.
Just like many temple forces during the Warring States Period, they used temples as the core of their rule and then participated in the struggle for hegemony.
Qi Bin knew about his father's obsession with Confucianism, and it was because of his study of Orchidism that he drew a clear line with him, and the father and son turned against each other.
He even later prevented Qi Bin from becoming the feudal lord of Satsuma Domain.
Finally, after Shimazu Qibin failed in the battle with the Renaissance Army, his father was the first to stand up against him.
So Qi Bin used the academy as a condition to lure Shimazu Saikō into the business. If he could strengthen Satsuma Academy, Shimazu Saikō was still willing to pay a certain price.
Qi Bin has thought very clearly that if he wants Japan to integrate into the Greater China Circle, it must be split up. Both the shogunate and the emperor are stumbling blocks to integrating into the Greater China Circle.
There are so many vassal states in Japan, and only if they are integrated into the Greater China Circle, can they truly be free from disputes.
Instead of like now, there are always people who want to be the overlord of all vassal states.
Why do some people always develop ambition?
Because neither the shogunate nor the emperor had the ability to completely suppress these feudal lords.
But the Celestial Dynasty is different. The size of the Celestial Dynasty is enough to make all the daimyo on the islands never have different ideas again.
And Qi Bin's plan will be bolder than the plan to overthrow the Tokugawa army, and he will give greater power to those big names.
"Now that the overthrow of the Tokugawa has reached Osaka, when are you going to move?" Shimazu couldn't help but ask after thinking for a while.
"Don't worry, let them fight first. Without the damage of war, how can there be great peace in the future?"
Outside Osaka City, the overthrown troops finally pulled up the surprise troops.
Although these people's training is insufficient, they have all been brainwashed and fight fiercely without fear of death.
They adopted the strategy of attacking in waves and advanced in scattered formations. The attacking personnel in front acted as handles to attract the enemy's firepower, and the troops behind them followed suit.
This brought a lot of trouble to Osaka Castle. Because artillery alone could no longer suppress the offensive of the Tokugawa army, the infantry on the top of the city had to reach out and shoot.
This gave the rebels an opportunity to shoot the defenders at the top of the city.
On the night of April 13th in the Chinese calendar, an armed fleet flying the flag of the fallen Tokugawa attacked the port of Osaka Castle.
If you get closer, you will find that these ships are all filled with foreigners.
The shogunate's patrol fleet at the port was laxly guarded. They had not seen the fleet of the rebel army for so many days.
According to intelligence, the Overthrow Army did not have its own fleet.
After two hours of naval battle, in the early morning, except for two steam gunboats that broke out with injuries, the remaining ships were sunk in the port.
In the next two days, the defenders in Osaka Castle were attacked from both sides and their morale plummeted.
The main defender of the city, Tokugawa Keki, abandoned the fighting garrison and led his elite soldiers to break out of the encirclement at night.
Tokugawa Keiki was fighting for the succession of the shogun. He did not want to fall into the hands of the overthrown shogunate.
Now that the navy has been crippled, Osaka Castle is completely surrounded by the enemy.
Falling down is just a matter of time.
On April 16, the remaining Osaka defenders surrendered to the overthrown Tokugawa troops.
In this battle, the overthrown army captured 300,000 taels of silver alone. In addition, they also had more than 4,000 muskets and more than 50 artillery pieces.
The most important thing is that after occupying Osaka Castle and defeating the shogunate's navy, the morale of the overthrowing shogunate army increased greatly.
At the same time, reinforcements from the shogunate also arrived.
After learning the news of the fall of Osaka Castle, the reinforcements directly changed the target of their attack to Kyoto Castle.
The generals of the shogunate army believed that retaking Kyoto was more valuable than retaking Osaka. It would be best to capture the false emperor supported by the shogunate army.
On April 20, the two sides collided at Toba near Kyoto.
The army that overturned the Tokugawa laid out a half-moon-shaped position in Toba, from Nakajima in the east to the branch on the west bank of the Kamogawa River.
The defenders included more than 10,000 coalition forces from the three powerful vassals, as well as stormtroopers and surprise troops, totaling 8,000 people, bringing the total strength to 18,000.
On the side of the shogunate there were 20,000 new troops and 10,000 feudal soldiers.
In the afternoon of that day, the shogunate army took the lead in launching an attack. They lined up in a horizontal formation and slowly pressed forward.
The overthrown army opened fire first, and the first shell hit an artillery unit in the middle of the shogunate's row, followed by another raindrop of gunfire.
The two sides went back and forth and started shooting at each other from a long distance.
Since both sides could barely enter the firing range of rifled guns, and the training levels of both sides were insufficient, the killing efficiency was not high.
The battle progressed so slowly that the two sides had to call a temporary truce that night.
During this period, the troops that originally invaded Osaka quietly withdrew.
The next day, at dawn, the battle between the two sides began again.
The overthrown army's surprise troops also launched a hand-to-hand charge, but were immediately repelled by bullets. Both sides continued to consume.
Seeing that it was difficult to break through here, the shogunate army detached 5,000 men to take a detour in the direction of Fushimi.
Fushimi is located east of Toba, a small town about six kilometers south of Kyoto, with the Kamo River in the west and Momoyama in the east. The temple is located in its southeast corner, surrounded by earthen walls and giant houses. At that time, the firepower
Under the conditions, it can be regarded as a solid fortress.
Like Toba, the overthrow army also had a half-moon position, occupying the commanding heights of Momoyama and surrounding the Fushimi Office from three sides. The defenders included 1,800 soldiers from Choshu and 1,300 from Tosa Domain, as well as new troops.
There are two thousand vassal troops attached.
The shogunate army attacked and defeated the shogunate's positions many times, and once occupied Momoyama, but was later repulsed.
On the night of April 21, the overthrown shogunate army launched a night attack and counterattack against the shogunate army.
A hand-to-hand fight broke out between the two sides, and the battle was even more intense than during the day.
By dawn on the 22nd, the shogunate army had less than 10,000 remaining soldiers and was forced to retreat to Yodo Castle. In this way, the shogunate army suffered disastrous defeats in Toba and Fushimi battlefields.
As soon as the war started, at noon on April 22, the Kyoto court announced that the Tokugawa shogunate was an "enemy of the DPRK" and decided to attack.
The emperor's aunt and the prince, who were also young, were sent to the camp of the overthrown army to boost their morale.
After the palace was burned down, there were only a few female descendants left in the emperor's family, and they were all relatively young.
Even so, Kido Takayun did not let them go, and one of them was appointed as the new emperor and used as a puppet.
Because Hemiya was a little older, he was asked to walk outside as a prince.
After receiving the prince's condolences, the morale of the defeated shogunate army was greatly boosted, and they took advantage of the victory to launch a pursuit of the shogunate army.
The two sides fought in Yodo City.
After switching to the defensive, the shogunate army temporarily took a breather.
The shogunate's troops attacked one after another, which made it difficult for the shogunate to withstand. However, they also suffered heavy casualties.
Kido Takayoshi was ruthless to his enemies, and even more ruthless to his own people. He ordered a continuous attack on Yodo Castle regardless of all costs.
Poor Prince Wagongiya and a teenage girl were brought behind the battle line to boost morale.
Finally, on the 25th, with the cooperation of Osaka's retreating troops, Yodo Castle was captured, and the two sides launched fierce street battles in the city.
The entire town was transformed into a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
At this point, the shogunate's new army was completely destroyed.
The morale of the overthrown army was strong. The army organized and began to advance towards Edo.
Along the way, some small feudal lords and famous lords descended upon the news.
The closer we get to Edo, the weaker the daimyo's combat effectiveness becomes. Everyone is counting on the shogunate to protect them.
ps: Here comes a 5,000-word chapter, asking for votes from readers? Work is waving to us, and we have said goodbye to everyone during the holidays.