I started with the Shinsengumi in Bakumatsu

Chapter 173 Yagyu: Say no more!Enomoto didn’t dare to say anything anymore
"Boom...Boom...Woo..."

In the open field, the royal train with the chrysanthemum flag was traveling quickly.

Princess Mary was sitting on a soft sofa. The maid beside her was serving fruits to the princess, and there were other Japanese maids in the carriage.

The leading female officer, Noriko Asukai, was born in the Habayashi family and was a baron. The female officer had already learned German before and there was no communication barrier in terms of language.

Noriko Asukai came forward with a drink and said, "Your Highness, this is Coca-Cola."

Princess Mary was a little surprised when she picked up the wine glass from the silver plate and said, "Oh, great. I thought I could only speak my own mother tongue to Lucy. Didn't I expect you could do the same?"

Noriko Asukai explained: "After the marriage between His Highness and His Majesty the Emperor was confirmed, concubines and other women were selected as concubines. After a series of studies and selections, concubines were selected as the concubines because they were the best in German language. The maid is responsible for managing the women and children serving His Highness."

"Your rules are very strict." Princess Mary was very surprised. Even though she was a princess of the Principality of Hesse, the rules in the palace were not as many as those in the Japanese Imperial Palace.

Just like Lucy beside Princess Mary, she was sent to the palace as a maid simply because she was the daughter of a noble. The selection process was not as strict as Noriko Asukai's.

This made Princess Mary a little worried. What if she makes a fool of herself at the banquet later?
She immediately asked: "Dianzi, will you attend the banquet later and have a lot of etiquette?"

Noriko Asukai responded with a smile: "Your Highness, don't worry. Your Majesty thought that His Highness came from Europe and had difficulty adapting to Japan for a while, so this banquet was held in accordance with European etiquette.

In fact, His Majesty is very interested in European affairs, so there is no need for His Majesty to worry about this matter. "

Princess Mary had more doubts in her heart, and she continued to ask: "Before coming to Japan, I read in the book collection that Japan is a country with a long history, but it is relatively closed and has only good relations with the Netherlands.

I am very curious as to why His Majesty is interested in European things. In my opinion, Eastern things have a unique beauty. "

Noriko Asukai was silent for only a few seconds before replying: "This may be because His Majesty is tired of looking at those old things, and the Prime Minister will teach His Majesty about the advanced civilization of Europe.

Our country can be strong only by learning advanced science and technology. Your Majesty shoulders the important responsibilities of the world, so he is naturally interested in European things. "

Princess Mary's eyes lit up and she asked: "In our place, the prime minister only assists the king, but here, Prime Minister Yagyu looks so young, but many people respect him, and he is also your majesty's teacher?"

Lucy on the side couldn't help but said: "He seems to be more than just a civil servant, right? With a sword and gun on his waist, he always feels like a military attaché."

Noriko Asukai said with pride: "Yes, the Prime Minister is not an ordinary person. Your Majesty usually calls the Prime Minister your father-in-law. This is treating the Prime Minister like a father."

"Ah? With his father's treatment, this..." Lucy was a little confused. Could it be that this His Majesty is the love child of the Prime Minister and the Queen Mother?
Princess Mary also asked: "Why, this is a bit difficult to understand."

Noriko Asukai replied: "Before the late emperor died, your majesty was still young and the country was in turmoil. At that time, the late emperor trusted the Prime Minister and believed that only the Prime Minister could lead Japan to rise.

Therefore, before his death, the late emperor asked the Prime Minister to carry His Majesty to the throne and asked His Majesty to treat the Prime Minister with the courtesy of a father.

The late emperor's decision was correct. The Prime Minister turned the tide and resolved the domestic turmoil. At the beginning of the year, he defeated the Netherlands who had bullied our country in the Beibu Gulf naval battle.As a result, His Majesty relies more on the Prime Minister. "

Noriko Asukai spoke with some excitement. She talked about Yagyu's rising career, mentioned that bloody night, and the several assassinations that Yagyu encountered.

Such exciting stories are very attractive to Princess Mary and Lucy.

Neither of them expected that the man with the gentler smile would kill so many people.

This made Princess Mary and Lucy curious about Prime Minister Yagyu's mentality. What was he thinking?

We must not invade the Qing's sphere of influence.

This is Yagyu's current thoughts.

He looked at the letters in his hand, frowned and said, "Reply to them and don't mention the conquest of Korea again."

Enomoto Takehi supported this matter in his heart. Seeing Yagyu's decisive refusal, he couldn't bear to say: "Is the Prime Minister worried that the current finances are not enough to support the conquest of Korea? In fact..."

Yagyu raised his hand and said: "I know what you want to say. This has nothing to do with finances. More than 1000 years ago, the imperial court sent troops to Korea and was defeated by the Tang Dynasty. 300 years ago, Duke Hideyoshi sent troops to Korea and was defeated by the Ming Dynasty. Now we are sending troops to Korea. , facing not only the Qing Dynasty, but also Tsarist Russia!

If we were at odds with Tsarist Russia, we would not only have to confront Tsarist Russia and the Qing Dynasty in Korea, but Alaska would also be unstable. Our army would need to deploy a large number of troops in Hokkaido and Alaska.

Not only that, if I become an enemy of the Qing Dynasty, all my previous investments in the Qing Dynasty will be ruined. Next, I will have to occupy Hainan and other Qing territory by force, and in this way I will have to arrange garrison troops.

If these are not counted, then let’s talk about our country’s situation. We are already at odds with France and the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom is somewhat dissatisfied with us. If we offend the Qing Dynasty and Tsarist Russia again, we will face pressure from three parties. "

Enomoto Takehi said with some reluctance: "With your talents, Prime Minister, it only takes more than ten years to bring Japan's strength to a higher level. By then, there will be no need to worry so much."

Yagyu really doesn't understand what these people are thinking in their minds. In short, many people have formed an obsession with the land of the Central Plains. This is a heritage of more than 1000 years, and they will not look back after breaking through the southern wall.

But Yagyu knew that this road would not work.

Liu Sheng said very forcefully: "Don't talk about the conquest of Korea anymore!"

Enomoto Takehi was frightened when he saw the serious Yagyu, and immediately shut up.

Tokugawa Yingxi, who was drinking coffee, raised the corners of his mouth slightly. He had long known that Yagyu would definitely reject this proposal. Although Enomoto Takehi was his man, he did not agree with the conquest of Korea.The distance from Osaka to Kyoto is not far. More than an hour later, the royal train arrived at Kyoto's Ximen Station.

As for Niaoyu Station, it became a civilian station.

In the Ximen Station, the female guard was already waiting, and Nakano Takeko and others stood waiting in front of the exquisite royal carriage.

As soon as the train stopped, the guards quickly got out of the car to be on guard. Then Yagyu, Princess Mary and others got off the train. The group got on the carriage and headed to the palace under the protection of the female guard and other guards.

Although it was late and the sun was setting in the west, the lights inside and outside the palace were brightly lit. Emperor Meiji spent hundreds of thousands of yen on this banquet.

The current imperial family is no longer a poor man. One of the reasons why Emperor Komei supported the Yagyu Restoration was that the imperial family was rich.

During the Tokugawa Shogunate era, the emperor's treatment was that of a minor daimyo. When Emperor Komei supported the Yagyu Restoration, his annual income was 30 taels of gold.

The current Emperor Meiji has dozens of factories invested in his name, and he also has shares in Diryu Tempura (KFC) and Coca-Cola. Together with land income, he has an income of at least 4000 million yen a year.

So Emperor Meiji held this luxurious banquet with a wave of his hand.

Not only that, Emperor Meiji, under the guidance of Yagyu, was very fond of European things, just like Oda Nobunaga. Considering that he would live with a European princess in the future, he transformed part of the royal family into Western style style.

This time, the welcome banquet was held in a Western-style main hall. There was a long table in the main hall, and a variety of Western food was placed on the table. The most popular was French Western food.

As for the variety of Japanese food, the quantity is not large. There are only several stacks of sukiyaki that Emperor Meiji liked.

The banquet was attended by nobles above the earl level, and the officials were all cabinet ministers, deputies, ministers, and department heads.

Emperor Meiji took the lead in attending the banquet in a tuxedo, and the nobles and ministers who came to the banquet also wore suits.

At this moment, the banquet has not yet begun. Emperor Meiji is holding a goblet and shaking the red wine slightly. Ohara Shigenori on the side boasts: "Today's Japan, with His Majesty at the helm, has been recognized by Western powers. When His Majesty marries the princess, it will inevitably To join the ranks of Europe.”

Now many people can see that the emperor prefers European things. As for traditional culture, you can keep it, but it is not the most important. The preference of the superior is the most important.

Emperor Meiji already had the idea of ​​leaving Asia and joining Europe, but he didn't dare to ask Yagyu, and he didn't see Yagyu mention such a thing, so he kept it in his heart.

However, Yagyu did not stop Emperor Meiji from loving European things. This kind of thing was innocuous to Yagyu. The matter of leaving Asia and joining Europe would not change based on people's thoughts.

Japan is in East Asia. No matter what the Japanese think, Japan is an Asian country, just like Tsarist Russia, which struggled to integrate into Europe. As a result, in the eyes of Europeans, Tsarist Russia is an Asian country.

Although Europeans shout for freedom, in fact, they are more conservative, feudal, and have the most severe regional discrimination.

Lao Americans are the descendants of Europeans, so they are no exception.

Therefore, Yagyu never thought about integrating into Europe. Even if Emperor Meiji married a European princess, it was just to increase his influence in Asia.

His exchanges with Prussia and the United States were all exchanges of interests. This was the exchange between countries. No high-sounding words could compare to real money.

Covenant?It's just toilet paper meant to be torn up.

Although Yagyu thought so, others did not think so.

Just like Emperor Meiji, he felt that his marriage to Princess Mary was an opportunity for Japan to leave Asia and join Europe.

"Ohara-san has said before that Japan's success today is the result of my father's hard work in power, and I am slowly learning from it."

Ohara Shigetori didn't care whether he could succeed or not, but he still needed some eye drops.

"Your Majesty is too humble. The reason why Prime Minister Yagyu is able to achieve his achievements is with the help of His Majesty's strength. After all, Prime Minister Yagyu is also your Majesty's minister. The ministers are equal to Prime Minister Yagyu. The reason why they obey Prime Minister Yagyu's orders , isn’t it because Your Majesty has entrusted Prime Minister Yagyu to govern the country? I am not following Prime Minister Yagyu’s orders, but I am actually following His Majesty’s orders.”

Ohara Shigetori spoke sincerely, as if every word of loyalty was true, but in fact, he was harboring evil intentions and criticizing Yagyu!

It's just that he underestimated it a little.

Emperor Meiji was a little puzzled and said: "There is no difference between obeying my father-in-law's orders and my orders. With my father-in-law governing the country, I can hold a banquet here easily and comfortably.

Speaking of which, I first met my prime minister four years ago when the Choshu Clan and Aizu Clan faced off outside the Imperial Palace. That night, I met my prime minister for the first time.

In the early hours of the morning, my prime minister escorted me to the outside of the imperial palace. With a few words, I retreated three thousand soldiers. Even Huang Kao had never experienced such a feat, hahaha. "

The two men on the side immediately said in a respectful manner: "Your Majesty has never done such a feat among emperors in thousands of years. Your Majesty must be the first!"

Emperor Meiji was overjoyed and said with a smile: "Hahaha, it's not all my fault, my father-in-law is still here."

"Come, come, have a drink!"

Ohara Shigenori looked at the enthusiastic Emperor Meiji, feeling bitter in his heart.

(End of this chapter)