I started with the Shinsengumi in Bakumatsu

Chapter 176 Wedding
In the early morning of June 26, before dawn, Kyoto was bustling with activity. All citizens knew that today was the wedding day of His Majesty the Emperor. According to the announced procedure, the Emperor and Princess Marie Carolini of the Principality of Hesse would be in the church. marry.

This church was opened to Christianity after Yagyu signed a treaty with Britain, France, the United States, and the Netherlands, and a church was built in Kyoto.

This time it was the Archbishop of Macau who came to the Kyoto church to officiate at the wedding.

If the Tokugawa shogunate had not banned Christianity, the Japanese Christian District would have been equipped with a bishop. Later, when Japan banned Christianity, the Christian District was divided into Macau and arranged for an archbishop to preside over Christian affairs in Southeast Asia.

The Kyoto church is built between Shijo-dori and Gojo-dori, on the edge of Ryukawa-dori. There are Higashi Hongan-ji Temple, Nishi Hongan-ji Temple and Mibu-ji Temple nearby.

If this had happened before, the Buddhist monks from Honganji Temple would have come directly to the door.

Now, whether it is Christianity, Buddhism, Shinto, etc., they are all under the management of the government. The temples and shrines of the former shogunate were reorganized into the Japan Religious Beliefs Management Agency.

Regarding the cult, Yagyu naturally strikes hard and shows no mercy.

Although Yagyu opened up the spread of Christianity, he required that some of the doctrines they spread must conform to Japanese tradition.

Of course, those pastors may not listen, but Yagyu learned a trick: I can't attack your Christianity, but I can attack the believers.

As long as believers are found to have done something that violates Japanese tradition and public order and good customs, they will naturally be severely punished.

This kind of treatment made the pastors restrain themselves a lot.

Today, the emperor is going to hold a wedding in a Kyoto church. It is a big event for Bishop Collison. He can use this wedding to spread the reputation of the sect.

However, he was more afraid of Yagyu's methods, which were too fierce.

……

"what…"

Sanosuke Harada yawned, glanced at his wife Aya next to him, and said, "What are you doing here so early? I'll just have someone arrange a place for you."

Aya hugged the child and said excitedly: "What do you know? This is a good opportunity to meet His Majesty the Emperor. Have you seen that princess?"

Harada Sanosuke shook his head and said: "I haven't seen it before. How can I have time? I'm busy during this period. Okay, I'll lead the team to do things first. Someone will take care of you for me."

"go Go."

Aya was too lazy to care about Harada Sanosuke, she just wanted to see the appearance of the Emperor and Princess Mary.

Aya is pretty good. Some people arrange seats, but it is difficult for others. Those big businessmen have already bought the seats and can watch from the second floor on the street.

Ordinary citizens can only seize the position early, and if they are late, they can only look at the back of other people's heads.

Police officers from the police station had already set up a cordon and were occupying strategic positions to monitor the surrounding area.

……

In the early morning, as soon as it dawned, Emperor Meiji put on a commander-in-chief's military uniform under the service of a female officer, with three gold medals hanging on it, shining brightly in the sunlight.

Emperor Meiji looked in the mirror, a little uneasy, and said: "My dear father, do you think Miss Mary will be satisfied with the wedding I have prepared? Do you think this diamond ring is okay?"

He took out a red jewelry box, which contained a large 32-carat diamond ring.

Yagyu was very calm and nodded: "Your Majesty, don't be nervous. I think Princess Mary is very touched by your arrangement. After Your Majesty and Princess Mary get married, they can slowly develop their relationship."

Emperor Meiji had already begun to imagine the days after marriage, but he had no experience in love, so he asked: "Father, how should I cultivate a relationship with Miss Mary?"

Yagyu thought for a moment and replied: "Your Majesty can take Princess Mary to various places to visit the beautiful scenery of our country. During the trip, your Majesty can just chat with Princess Mary more."

Emperor Meiji nodded and said: "What a good idea, please arrange it for me. After we get married, Mary and I will go out for fun. As for the state affairs, I will leave it to my father-in-law."

Emperor Meiji was in a good mood and walked out of the hall with his head held high.

Yagyu followed him out and got into the carriage with him. Now they were going to the church in the carriage. Princess Mary was heading to the church from the Prussian Embassy.

At this moment, there were already a sea of ​​people inside and outside the church. There were nobles, ministers, and envoys from other countries in the church.

In the square outside the church, there are wealthy businessmen who have spent money to come in, as well as the wealthy middle class.

As the cheerful music sounded, all the people in the church came out and stood on the steps to greet them. Outside the church, the Imperial Guards and the Female Guards each opened a road. The sonorous and powerful footsteps were like drums, announcing the arrival of the Emperor. .

The gold-encrusted carriage instantly attracted everyone's attention. Eight impeccable white horses of the same size led the carriage to a slow stop in front of the traffic steps. On the other side, the carriage carrying Princess Mary also stopped on the other side.

The attendant stepped forward and opened the door for Emperor Meiji first. The Emperor and the Prime Minister got off the carriage together. Princess Mary slowly stepped out of the carriage in a pure white wedding dress. The diamonds on the wedding dress were like twinkling stars, setting off Princess Mary's appearance, stunning everyone.

Emperor Meiji immediately stepped onto the steps. Princess Mary lifted up her skirt and slowly walked forward with the help of Lucy, coming together with Emperor Meiji.

"Mary, you look so beautiful today."

Emperor Meiji couldn't help but be excited and praised.

Princess Mary smiled slightly and whispered: "Thank you for the compliment, Your Majesty."

The two stood in front of the church door. Yagyu led the others into the church and sat down. Bishop Collison, with the help of the pastor, prepared everything, and then said: "Everyone, under the witness of God today, there are Invite our newcomers to enter!”

Outside the hall, Princess Mary held the arm of Emperor Meiji, and the two slowly walked into the church and came to the bishop.

The bishop said: "Everyone, we gather in front of God today to witness and bless the new couple in front of us. His Majesty the Emperor and Her Royal Highness the Princess followed God's guidance and entered the temple of marriage on this beautiful day...Amen!"

Everyone saluted together and recited a sentence together.

Then the bishop asked: "Your Majesty, do you wish Princess Marie Carolini to be your wife and to live in holy matrimony with her?"

Emperor Meiji nodded excitedly and said, "I am willing."

The bishop then asked Princess Mary, who shyly replied: "I do."

Bishop Collison looked at the Emperor and said: "Your Majesty, please recite with me, in the holy name of God, I marry you and take you as my wife. From now on, I will share the joys and sorrows with you, love you, and respect you." You, always my center, may the Lord help me keep my word.”

After Emperor Meiji finished reciting, Princess Mary also recited it again.

The bishop took the gift box from the priest and handed it to Emperor Meiji and Princess Mary, saying: "Under the witness of God, may these rings become a token of your lifelong love and eternal unity, Amen!"

Under everyone's gaze, Emperor Meiji put on the ring for Princess Mary affectionately and nervously. Princess Mary was a little shy and put on the ring for Emperor Meiji.After exchanging rings, the bishop also said with a smile: "Now please His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Princess to accept God's blessing together."

Emperor Meiji was about to kneel down, but was interrupted by Yagyu's voice.

"Wait a minute, why didn't anyone help Mr. Bishop aside? Don't block God's blessing."

When Collison saw Yagyu's eyes, he immediately called to the priest to help him aside.

Others quickly understood the situation. Bishop Collison planned to replace God and let the emperor kneel before him to pray, thus improving the status of Christianity in Japan.

Yagyu Heiyan saw the other party's plan at a glance, so he asked Bishop Collison to get out of the way. Bishop Collison was timid and took the initiative to get out of the way to retain some dignity.

Although there is a small flaw, it is not a major problem.

Emperor Meiji and Princess Mary knelt down together, clasped their hands, and began to pray to the Cross of Jesus hanging in front of them.

Bishop Collison delivered a speech on the side. After reading the blessing speech, everyone in the church wanted to bless the couple together.

At this point, under the witness of God, Emperor Meiji and Princess Mary were married, and Yagyu took the lead in applauding.

Afterwards, Emperor Meiji took Princess Mary's hand and walked outside the church. They held up their hands that were nestled together. The diamond ring caught everyone's attention in the sunlight.

The citizens who came to watch in the church square shouted and cheered loudly, and cheerful music also sounded on the field.

Emperor Meiji led Princess Mary onto the royal carriage and, escorted by the imperial guard camp and female guards, returned to the palace from the church along Ryukawa-dori Street.

Citizens on both sides of the road had already seen Emperor Meiji, and now seeing Emperor Meiji and Princess Mary in the carriage, they all expressed their blessings, and the attendants behind immediately threw out copper coins and wedding candies.

In the carriage, Emperor Meiji was very nervous, and Princess Mary was also shy. The atmosphere was somewhat silent. Emperor Meiji secretly glanced at Princess Mary in her wedding dress and couldn't help but swallow.

"Mary, may I call you that?"

Mary nodded and said: "Of course, Your Majesty, from now on, I will be your wife."

When Emperor Meiji heard this, he felt relieved and relaxed a little. He remembered Yagyu's teachings to him, and he plucked up the courage to say: "Mary, I want to go on a trip in a few days, and I will show you the scenery of Japan." , you will definitely like it.”

Princess Mary did not expect that Emperor Meiji would come up with such a good idea. She was very satisfied and said: "Of course I am willing, Your Majesty, this is really a good idea. I think the beautiful scenery of Japan will definitely give me a different feeling!"

"But if Your Majesty and I go on a trip, what will happen to the country's government affairs?"

Emperor Meiji waved his hand casually and said: "Don't worry about this matter. As long as your father-in-law is here, there will be no problems in the state affairs."

Princess Mary wondered: "Japan has a cabinet, right? Why can it just be handed over to Prime Minister Yagyu?"

When talking about Yagyu, Emperor Meiji had something to say. He explained: "Mary, you don't know that Xiangfu is a very powerful person. The prosperity of Japan today was created by Xiangfu.

Basically, I don't need to deal with the country's affairs, my husband has already taken care of it, so you don't have to worry, just travel with me. "

Princess Mary was a little surprised. It seemed that Emperor Meiji trusted Yagyu very much, far more than he trusted the cabinet and other people. She didn't quite understand, but it was hard to ask directly at this time. She had to suppress her doubts and wait for further information. Later, ask about it again.

The two talked about other topics.

Outside the carriage, Aya saw the approaching carriage and cheered loudly and waved vigorously.

Princess Mary saw Aya who was very enthusiastic outside and immediately waved, causing everyone to scream.

Princess Mary also smiled happily.

Emperor Meiji took a look and said, "You can open the window and have a look, or you can slow down the carriage."

Princess Mary immediately opened the car window and greeted the enthusiastic citizens on the roadside, which was a pain for the police station on duty.

Saitoichi quickly scanned the surrounding situation and arranged for the prepared police team to step forward to strengthen the vigilance.

Half an hour later, the carriage arrived in front of the imperial palace gate. The band immediately started playing music and the carriage continued walking inside.

Emperor Meiji and Princess Mary returned to the palace first, then rested for a while and changed their clothes.

In the Western-style hall of Yuchen Imperial Palace, a dance party was being arranged in full swing.

It was almost noon, and Liu Sheng and others rushed to Yuchen Imperial Palace and entered the main hall.

The hall has already been arranged, with long tables surrounding it, with fine wine and food on them, and a large space in the middle, where there is a place for dancing.

On both sides of the high platform in front, there were Western-style bands ready.

"His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Queen are here!"

The attendants called the roll call, and the orchestras on both sides began to play music.

Queen Mary held Emperor Meiji's arm, and the two of them walked slowly with smiles on their faces.

A female officer came forward with a plate. The two of them elegantly picked up the wine glasses and raised their hands to signal: "Everyone, today is a happy day for me and Mary. Don't be restrained and enjoy our happiness!"

"Chels!"

The ambassadors, nobles and ministers below raised their wine glasses in response.

Later, Emperor Meiji and Queen Mary danced in the center of the stage, while other Western ambassadors also danced with their partners.

However, the Dutch Ambassador Van Poels was not in the mood. He came to Yagyu and apologized in a low voice: "Prime Minister Yagyu, I can explain the Nanyang matter, and the Netherlands will also make compensation. Please don't be angry, Prime Minister Yagyu."

Yagyu glanced at Van Pols and said in a disdainful tone: "Although you have the support of Britain and France, if you are too weak, you Netherlands will be a chess piece abandoned at will. Mr. Van Pols, you Netherlands should take care of yourself. My patience It’s not infinite.”

Van Bols gritted his teeth secretly, feeling humiliated. If it weren't for the man in front of him, how could Japan possibly bully me, Holland?
"What Prime Minister Yagyu said is, I remember it, don't worry, I will definitely advise those people in the country to be more honest and no longer be enemies of Japan."

Yagyu didn't pay attention to this sentence. It was nonsense without any truth. This time it was just Holland admitting defeat, and there would definitely be revenge in the future.

Everyone rides on the donkey to read the book and wait and see.

(End of this chapter)