Tokugawa returned to Edo with great joy and received the imperial title from Emperor Takaaki and the position of general for conquering barbarians in the shogunate.
The body of former shogun Tokugawa Iemo was finally complete and ready for burial.
After Tokugawa Iemo's body was spliced together, Tokugawa Iemo's widow, Emperor Takaaki's sister, and Princess Wagawa stayed in front of the coffin all night, unwilling to leave for a long time.
On the day Tokugawa Iemo was buried, a prisoner was escorted to the tombstone.
Gensaburo Inoue.
He knelt in front of Jia Mao's tombstone with an indifferent expression.
His heart was broken and he no longer cared about life or death.
We are all people walking on the path of pursuing the strongest, why...
Forget it, anyway, this is my last place.
Silently picking up the dagger from the ground, Inoue Genzaburo calmly said something to the wrong person.
"Excuse me."
Poof——
The dagger was almost completely buried in his abdomen, but Gensaburo Inoue's expression did not change at all.
squeak--
Use all your strength and pull hard horizontally.
Genzaburo Inoue didn't care that his internal organs had flowed out of his abdomen. He just put the dagger aside, touched the ground with his hands, and bowed deeply to Iemo's tombstone.
Zheng——
The moment Genzaburo Inoue's head touched the ground, the attacker raised his knife and dropped it.
Genzaburo Inoue's head fell down.
Several guards came over, two lifted Inoue's body, one picked up Inoue's head, threw it into Tokugawa Iemo's tomb, and then cleaned up all the blood on the ground.
When Iemo's coffin fell, it was not only Tokugawa Iemo who was buried.
There are also sinners.
...
Bad news comes one after another.
After the shogun Tokugawa Iemo was assassinated.
Emperor Takaaki.
Died.
Japan, which had not yet recovered from the aftermath of Tokugawa Iemo's assassination, was once again in chaos.
And this has nothing to do with the four southwestern vassals headed by Changzhou vassal.
Choshu Domain, Satsuma Domain, Tosa Domain, and Higo Domain.
Respecting the king and rejecting the barbarians was originally the main theme, but after everyone realized that it was not feasible to reject the barbarians, respecting the king and repelling the barbarians evolved into respecting the king and falling behind.
Two of the most powerful feudal clans were the Choshu clan and the Satsuma clan. Although the two clans had old grudges, they had many similarities.
Both vassals were Western armies fighting in the Sekigahara war, and they had long-standing grievances against the Tokugawa shogunate; both vassals had dedicated personnel engaged in smuggling, which gave the vassals strong financial resources; and both vassals also belonged to the fringe areas far away from Edo;
Both vassals have a very strong desire for power; the talents of both vassals will also actively discuss current affairs and find ways.
Among the two actual leaders of the Choshu Domain, Takasugi Shinsaku and Kido Junichiro were close friends. One was a bold and unrestrained military strategist, and the other was an outstanding politician.
Under the joint governance of the two people, the Choshu Domain flourished, and with the help of two powerful foreign aids, namely Sakamoto Ryoma and Samura Anno of the Tosa Domain, when the decadent shogunate faced the Choshu Satsuma community with such power,
Takasugi Shinsaku was lying on the tatami, coughing violently. His whole chest was like a bellows, and every breath made a violent sound.
"Takasugi, drink some hot water." Junichiro Kido helped Takasugi Shinsaku up and handed the water cup to Takasugi's mouth, with a sad look on his face.
"Cough cough cough——"
Unexpectedly, Takasugi Shinsaku coughed violently and spilled the water glass.
"Sorry, Kido - cough cough cough -" Takasugi Shinsaku wanted to apologize, but involuntarily grabbed the handkerchief next to him and covered his mouth and nose.
Dazzling blood appeared on the handkerchief.
"It's okay, I'll pour it for you again." Kido Junichiro sighed, called the servant, took the cup covered by Takasugi Shinsaku to unpack and wash it, filled another bowl of water himself, and handed it to Takasugi Shinsaku.
Takasugi Shinsaku leaned against the wall and drank the water this time.
After drinking some hot water, my cough subsided a little.
"Hey, Gui, how much time do you think I have left to live?"
He straightened his long hair and asked his best friend with a smile.
The originally smooth long hair now looks dry, and the originally bright eyes now have deep sunken sockets.
Kido Junichiro's face was filled with sadness and he did not want to answer.
"Don't be so sad." Takasugi weakly pushed Kido and smiled, "If you want to be sad, it's not too late for you to be sad after I die."
"You are more talented than me, Takasugi, I just..." Kido opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
Takasugi looked at Kido and just smiled.
"You still have a lot of things to deal with, I'm sorry, Kido, so many things have to pile up on your shoulders."
He sighed: "If I die, there will really be no one to help you deal with things."
"...Stop talking about Takasugi, take good care of yourself, you won't die." Junichiro Kido couldn't help but shook his head and turned away, trying to hide his tears.
"I'll go...to deal with government affairs first, and I'll see you later." Junichiro Kido said and walked out of the room without looking back.
Takasugi Shinsaku looked at Kido's back and smiled.
Junichiro Kido turned his back to the room, wiped away his tears, and walked away quickly.
...
February.
After Xiaoming's funeral, the next step was naturally the crown prince's accession to the throne.
Crown Prince Mutsuhito took over the position of emperor from his father Takaaki, known as——
Emperor Meiji.
When Meiji came to the throne, he was only sixteen years old.
After he took over, he sat on the throne and couldn't help but feel excited.
He didn't have too many feelings about his father's death. After all, it was a natural death, and Xiaoming had been in poor health for many years.
The most important thing is that the relationship between the two has never been harmonious. Muren did not receive as much warmth from Xiaoming as he did from Zuocun.
I have successfully sat in this position.
The next step is to contact the three teachers.
Samura once told Mutsuhito that after Mutsuhito truly ascends the throne, he will send people to contact Mutsuhito and obtain the real edict to attack the shogunate. He will legitimately define the Tokugawa shogunate as a villain, thereby overthrowing the Tokugawa shogunate and establishing
new government.
The head of the new government is naturally Mu Ren.
That is the current Emperor Meiji.
Meiji looked at Tokugawa Qingxi who was kneeling below him and worshiping him, with a hint of smile in his eyes.
Soon, you Tokugawa family members will no longer need to worship me here in a pretentious manner.
...
After learning that Muruhito had ascended the throne in Kyoto and was named Emperor Meiji.
Zuo Cun, who was still recovering from his injuries, showed a subtle smile.
The Satsuma Domain is still hesitating, while the Choshu Domain is already actively practicing war.
This time it was not the Tokugawa Shogunate who initiated the war.