I started with the Shinsengumi in Bakumatsu

Chapter 125 The death of the general, the return of great power

Just like any other day, Yagyu was looking at material reports and financial reports in the Cabinet Office. In the quiet office, only the sound of Yagyu flipping papers and the rustling sound of him writing could be heard.

But for a moment, the quiet environment was broken. There was a burst of rapid footsteps approaching from far away, and it was accompanied by a fierce sound of stepping on the stairs.

Ichimura Tetsunosuke looked calm and hurriedly walked into the office.

Yagyu raised his head and asked, "Is this a battle report from the direction of Choshu Domain?"

Ichimura Tetsunosuke shook his head and said: "Director, he is the envoy of the shogunate sent by His Highness Hitotsubashi. The shogun heard the battle report in Osaka. He was so angry that he fell ill. The situation is very bad.

After the general woke up from a coma, he sent someone to ask the director to go to Osaka for a meeting. "

Yagyu knew that Tokugawa Iemo would die. Although he had already taken action to save people, some things were difficult to change.

What Yagyu now has to consider is whether this order was meant by Tokugawa Iemo or by the die-hards of the shogunate.

He was worried that the die-hards would jump over the wall, so he lured him to Osaka, then caught him and forced the court to send troops to pacify the Choshu clan.

But what if Tokugawa Iemo really has something important to do with him?

Yagyu stood up immediately and said, "I'm going to find Master Hitotsubashi now."

Soon, Yagyu, who had changed his clothes, came to Nijo Castle and visited Hitotsubashi Keiki. At this time, Hitotsubashi Keiki was no longer as complacent as before. He also did not expect that the 10,000+ army was no match for the Choshu clan.

When he saw Yagyu, he immediately changed his attitude and said: "Prime Minister Yagyu, you also know the current situation. There is a defeat on the front, causing the general to be in poor health.

The shogun asked Prime Minister Yagyu to go to Osaka. There must be something important to say. I am afraid it is related to this incident. I hope Prime Minister Yagyu will help the shogunate for the sake of the imperial family. "

Yagyu nodded slightly and said: "The old era is over. I may not necessarily keep the shogunate, but I can keep your Tokugawa family. I hope Lord Hitotsubashi can understand."

Hitotsubashi Keixi is still a bit arrogant, but now the situation is stronger than others, and the prestige of the shogunate has collapsed. Many vassals in the Western Kingdom no longer obey the orders of the shogunate. If this continues, the shogunate will not have a decent ending. .

He could only say: "I will handle the outcome of the shogunate myself."

Yagyu didn’t say much, and finally said: “We will go to Osaka tomorrow.”

The next day, Yagyu still brought a battalion of soldiers and horses to escort him, and took a train to Osaka with Hitotsubashi Yoshiki to meet Tokugawa Iemo.

Tokugawa Iemo's body stabilized a little and he woke up. I don't know what he thought of. Tokugawa Iemo asked his retainers to buy the best fabric and asked a tailor in Kyoto to make a Nishijin woven fabric.

When Yagyu came to Osaka, he happened to bring Nishijinori with him.

Yagyu entered the bedroom, and Tokugawa Iemo was helped to sit up. He opened the box and handed it over and said, "Shogun, this is the Nishijin fabric you need."

Tokugawa Iemo looked at the gorgeous Nishijin-ori and said with a smile: "This is Wamiya's favorite dress. When I come to Osaka, I promised to bring back a set of beautiful Nishijin-ori as a souvenir. I really look forward to how she looks in this dress, standing under the cherry blossom tree, she must be very beautiful.”

In his heart, Yagyu just felt a little pitiful about Tokugawa Iemo who had been ordered to take over the position of general since he was young. He was a good person, and the fact that he could gradually fall in love with Wagoniya who hated him was enough to show that he was a man worth trusting.

Unfortunately, the die-hards of the shogunate killed this kind young general.

Yagyu couldn't help but said: "Don't worry, Lord Shogun. The affairs of the Choshu Domain will be properly handled by me. Nothing will happen to the shogunate. Lord Shogun, rest in peace and cultivate yourself. When the time comes, return to Edo and personally put on this coat for the emperor and the palace." Nishijinori.”

"Really? Jubei, you are really good at comforting people." Tokugawa Iemo had a sad smile. He looked at the others and waved, "Everyone, step aside and leave Jubei to talk to me."

Hitotsubashi Yingxi and others had no choice but to get up and walk out.

Tokugawa Iemo quickly waved and said: "Jubei, hold on to me a little."

Yagyu stepped forward to protect the thin Tokugawa Iemo. Tokugawa Iemo lay in Yagyu's arms and said with some frustration: "Jubei, I should have listened to you back then, maybe it wouldn't be the situation today.

When I was young, the shogunate was in turmoil. Over the years, I have been unable to stabilize the shogunate. I don’t even know what I did. What do you think I did?

Jubei, my journey is about to end here. Say sorry to Wakiya for me. I broke my promise.

Jubei, I ask you one last thing, to save the Tokugawa family and protect Wagoniya. "

Yagyu promised: "Don't worry, General, I will do it!"

Tokugawa Iemo suddenly struggled to get up. He used all his strength and walked outside. He looked at the scenery outside the window and said loudly: "That's Edo. I want to go back to Edo..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the exhausted Tokugawa Iemo fell to the ground and murmured: "E...to..."

Yagyu hurriedly stepped forward to help Tokugawa Iemo, but he disappeared in the blink of an eye. The ministers who heard the shouts ran over and saw Tokugawa Iemo with his eyes closed, and they all cried: "Shogun!"

On July 14, the second year of Keio, Tokugawa Iemo, the [-]th general of the Tokugawa Shogunate, died of illness in Osaka.

There was a gloom and gloom in Osaka. Originally, the shogunate's army had repeatedly failed in frontline operations, and now even the general had died of illness. When word spread, the battle could not be fought at all, so Hitotsubashi Keki issued a hush-hush order.

In Osaka Castle, Yagyu looked at Hitotsubashi Yingxi and said: "The current situation, even if you block the news, the people of Satsuma Domain will be aware of the situation, and Choshu Domain will also know about it by then."

Hitotsubashi Yingxi said irritably: "I know, Prime Minister Yagyu, now it's your time to help the shogunate."

Liu Sheng remained calm and asked, "What are you going to do?"

Yoshihashi stared at Yagyu for a few minutes. He struggled in his heart for a long time and said, "Seriously, will you help me?"

Yagyu nodded and said, "I promised the General that I would protect the Tokugawa family."

Hitotsubashi Yingxi snorted coldly and said: "I plan to ask Katsu Kaishu and the others to go to Changzhou to negotiate. This is just a false move. During their negotiations, I will apply to the court for a peace and truce decree, so that the shogunate can be dignified. The war is over.”

Yagyu couldn't help but admire the cleverness of Hitotsubashi Keiki's trick to conceal the truth, but after all, it was just a trick and could not change the current situation.

Yagyu replied: "Just do it, the court will not stop it."

Hitotsubashi received Yagyu's assurance that he immediately ordered that he would personally go to the front line to supervise the battle. However, he left for a day and then ran back to Osaka. Then he asked Katsu Kaishu to serve as the shogunate's envoy to meet with Hirosawa Masaomi and Inoue Kaoru of the Choshu Domain. Island for talks.

Just as he had just sent the envoy, he immediately returned to Kyoto with Yagyu to report to the court the news of Tokugawa Iemo's death, and thereby proposed that the shogunate negotiate peace with the Choshu domain.Emperor Xiaomei did not want to fight in the country in the first place. In addition, the generals who conquered the barbarians were dead, so there were sufficient reasons for a truce and peace. He immediately issued an edict for a truce and peace.

The first people to get the news were the people of the Satsuma clan. It was a done deal. Shimazu Hisamitsu cursed loudly, and even Komatsu with his sword said angrily: "Ichitsubashi Keiki is so cunning, he even deceived his own people!"

Okubo Toshimichi said solemnly: "If you don't deceive your own people, how can we and the Choshu Domain believe it?"

Saigo Takamori said with a cold light in his eyes: "It's time for us to overthrow the curtain. We should let this shogunate, who is strong on the outside but weak on the inside, retreat as soon as possible."

"Fall the curtain!"

At this moment, the Samoan solidified his thoughts.

However, the imperial envoy had already set off. Konoe Tadafusa served as the envoy and took the main battleship of the Osaka Navy to the Choshu Domain. The Koshi and other naval ships also followed.

The reason why Yagyu made such an arrangement was that he clearly knew that after the Choshu clan defeated the shogunate, their confidence soared and they already had the idea of ​​pursuing the victory, so he sent the navy to shock them first.

However, Yagyu somewhat underestimated the quarrels within the Choshu clan.

Now that the Choshu Domain has defeated all the armies of the shogunate, the morale of the entire Choshu Domain is high, and the reputations of Takasugi Shinsaku, Katsura Kogoro, Omura Masujiro and others have reached their peak.

However, several people had differences on the issue of treating the shogunate.

Takasugi Shinsaku had contracted tuberculosis before and was supposed to go abroad for treatment in England. However, the shogunate suddenly attacked the Choshu Domain, causing a full-scale war. Takasugi Shinsaku stayed in the Choshu Domain and personally went into battle to boost the morale of the Choshu new army. This also made Takasugi Jin Zuo's condition is getting worse and worse.

He was not as radical and eager as Katsura Kogoro in dealing with the shogunate. In Takasugi Shinsaku's view, what the Choshu Domain should do now is to develop the domain's economy and move closer to Western countries.

But Katsura Kogoro's idea is still the same as politics, that is, to kill Kyoto, get the support of the court to overthrow, and then the Choshu Domain and Satsuma Domain will take control of power, etc.

However, Sakamoto Ryoma intervened. He knew that the envoy sent by the shogunate had deceived them, but it was different when the imperial court sent an envoy.

Originally, Sakamoto Ryoma's ideal was to solve Japan's problems through peaceful means, but when the war broke out, he chose to side with Choshu.

Now that the shogunate has been defeated, everyone with a discerning eye knows that the shogunate is in trouble. Sakamoto Ryoma feels that there is no need to continue fighting. Now he is negotiating with the shogunate, asking the court to come forward, and increasing the number of officials from each domain in the cabinet in proportion, etc.

Sakamoto Ryoma still hopes to learn from Western countries and establish a parliamentary system.

Sakamoto Ryoma even mentioned excitedly: "We can let the shogunate return the power to govern the world to the imperial court, and then let the imperial court form a new cabinet to govern the country that accommodates people with lofty ideals from all over the world."

"The great government is returned!"

This is not the first slogan put forward by Ryoma Sakamoto, but the time was not ripe before, so it disappeared quickly. Now it is indeed the right time for Ryoma Sakamoto to put it forward.

However, Katsura Kogoro retorted: "How can the shogunate who has once held power be willing to teach it out? Ryoma, you can't convince them with your mouth. We have to rely on the weapons in our hands."

Sakamoto Ryoma insisted: "No one will believe that the Choshu clan has less than 4000 people but defeated the shogunate's army of more than [-] people. I know this matter is difficult, but I will not give up."

Ryoma Sakamoto has found a new goal. He intends to promote the concept of returning the great government and realize his ideals.

However, by acting like this, Sakamoto Ryoma was pushing himself into a dead end.

The Choshu Domain was greatly indignant at the shogunate's deception, but they still agreed to the peace negotiation. However, the Choshu Domain's troops still sent out to conquer the surrounding vassal states, and discussed the matter of Shangluo with the Satsuma Domain.

Although the Choshu clan agreed to the withdrawal of the shogunate's troops, the actions and propaganda directly clamored for the collapse.

The actions of the Choshu Domain caused panic in Kyoto, and the shogunate was also in chaos.

Tokugawa Iemo, the leader of the samurai family, died of illness in Osaka. Now that the shogunate position is vacant, the senior middlemen discussed with several vassals and decided that Hitotsubashi Keiki would succeed the Tokugawa clan and the position of general of the war.

The matter of asking Yoshiki Hitotsubashi to be the general naturally fell on Matsudaira Harugaku, but Yoshiki Hitotsubashi refused the position of general and only accepted the position of the Tokugawa clan.

This surprised many people. No one would have imagined that Hitotsubashi would refuse the position of general.

In fact, Hitotsubashi Keiki had his own plans.

Hitotsubashi... No, Tokugawa Yingxi knew that he actually didn't have much power after becoming a shogun, and he knew that the shogunate needed vigorous reforms to save it.

Therefore, he refused the position of general in order to force the old middlemen to surrender, gain the right to speak, and then implement the New Deal.

Tokugawa was happy to find Yagyu.

In Nijo Castle, after the two exchanged pleasantries, Tokugawa Yoshiki said directly: "Prime Minister Yagyu, tell the truth. I think my thoughts cannot escape your eyes, right?"

In fact, Yagyu didn't really see Tokugawa Keiki's thoughts, but he knew that Tokugawa Keiki would reform the shogunate after he came to power, but the Satsuma and Naga clans did not give the shogunate any more time.

Yagyu thought for a moment and said, "Does Lord Tokugawa mean to reform the shogunate and implement a new deal?"

Tokugawa Qingxi sneered: "I knew you would definitely understand what I was doing, so I came to talk to you today just because I hope you can help me."

Yagyu shook his head and said: "Lord Tokugawa, there is no time."

Tokugawa Qingxi said unwillingly: "Why do you say that? There are many talents in the shogunate. In just five years, I can put the shogunate on the right track and revitalize the shogunate in ten years!"

Yagyu was neither humble nor arrogant. He looked at Tokugawa Qingxi and said seriously: "That is your shogunate. What I want to revitalize now is the entire country of Japan. Of course, Lord Tokugawa, I will not interfere with the shogunate. Your enemies are the two shogunate clans." .

You can rest assured that as long as I am here, I can ensure the continuation of the Tokugawa family. "

Tokugawa Qingxi had no expression on his face when he heard Yagyu's assurance, but he was actually relieved. He thought that with Yagyu's repeated assurances, he decided to take the risk.

After chatting with Yagyu, Tokugawa Keiki, who repeatedly declined, finally asked several senior officials in the shogunate to agree to his new policy plan. Ogasawara Nagayuki finally agreed to Tokugawa Keiki's request.

Tokugawa celebrated becoming the 15th Shogun of the Shogunate.

(End of this chapter)