I started with the Shinsengumi in Bakumatsu

Chapter 219 The Patriotic Public Party’s Election Strategy

"Since they are so urgent, let them release the news and prepare for the election of the House of Commons."

Yagyu said with interest.

"Oh? Is this move by the Prime Minister to divide them?"

Okubo Toshimichi was a little confused.

In his opinion, such a move would split the opinions of the powerful gentry parties.

After all, now that the election of members of the House of Commons is about to begin, everyone's main focus will definitely be on the election first, so there will be few people to support actions to strengthen the House of Commons.

In addition, civilian parties, such as the Liberal Party, are mainly united for business interests. Although they also have solidarity, they prefer that the election of the House of Commons start early.

Yagyu nodded slightly and said: "Well, that's what I mean. This is my conspiracy, and they have to fall for it, or continue to make trouble, and the election of the House of Commons will be in vain. The House of Nobles must be happy. I see those Will the feudal lord join forces with the party?"

Okubo Toshimichi was surprised: "Why didn't I think of this! The House of Lords must hope that these parties will continue to cause trouble and the House of Commons will end without any problems!"

Yagyu said with a smile: "Now that these parties are making such a fuss, this group of nobles must be adding fuel to the flames. I don't know who came up with the idea to propose this plan to the people in the House of Nobles. It's really awesome."

Okubo Toshimichi nodded and said: "I understand, then I will immediately prepare for the election of the House of Commons."

Yagyu leaned forward, put his hands on the table, and pressed his chin. His eyes were a little deep, and he murmured: "It's going to be lively again. It's good to be lively, so it won't be boring."

It can be said that the current Japanese political arena is dominated by Yagyu's prestige. Anyone who dares to break through the bottom line will be killed by Yagyu.

For example, Iwakura Tomomi, Goto Shojiro and others were like this, only making small moves within the scope prescribed by Yagyu.

……

Okubo Toshimichi walked out of Yagyu's office, and immediately called Sakuma Shoyama, Kido Takayoshi and others, and said: "The Prime Minister feels that the election of the House of Commons can begin. Let's discuss when to start the election process."

Kido Takayun became more energetic. He knew something about the election law, and he took the lead in saying: "According to the election law, elections must start from the town level, and then to the county, state, and the lower house elections. The four-level elections are expected to take two days. Months’ time.”

Yokoi Konan then said: "Not necessarily. Nankaido is thousands of miles away from Kyoto. I estimate it will take four or five months until our news spreads and they pass the election."

Okubo Toshimichi combined the two opinions and said: "Then be more relaxed and set the election time to six months."

Although the election takes a long time, it is the first election after all, and it is better to be more cautious. Otherwise, chaos in the election meeting will only damage the prestige of the central government.

"Elections should not be ignored. Since the rise of political parties in various places, many people are trying to make trouble through the affairs of the House of Commons. This time, we are going to catch all these monsters!"

Kido Takayun said with some worry: "I don't know how many things will happen in this election meeting. I think it is still too early."

Sakuma Shoyama also thought so, but it was Yagyu who proposed this matter, and it was difficult for him to object.

He suggested: "Since this is the first election, I think it is necessary to send commissioners from the central government to various places for supervision and guidance."

"Well, Lord Sakuma's suggestion is very useful. Lord Yokoi, look at how many people the Ministry of Internal Affairs can mobilize."

Okubo Toshimichi looked at Yokoi Konan and asked.

Yokoi Xiaonan nodded and said: "Okay, I will try to select as many people as possible."

After a group of people discussed the details, the meeting broke up.

However, Okubo Toshimichi was still a little worried. He didn't believe that these people would go to the election with peace of mind, and they might come up with despicable means by then.

He immediately sent for Isamu Kondo.

Isamu Kondo had just sat in the Metropolitan Police Department for a while when he saw Okubo Toshimichi sending someone to look for him. He had no choice but to put down his pen, get up and leave the office.

After a while, Kondo Isamu came to Okubo Toshimichi's office.

Okubo Toshimichi said directly: "Director Kondo, the Prime Minister has just instructed me to prepare for the election of the House of Commons. You should also know that parties everywhere are ambitious and trying to seize power from the cabinet.

This incident threatens the Prime Minister's reform plan, so I hope that the secret police department of your Metropolitan Police Department can cooperate with me to protect this election. "

When Kondo Yu heard that it was something related to Prime Minister Yagyu, his expression became more serious.

"I understand, Okubo-sama, don't worry, I will inform the local police stations to follow up on this matter."

……

The cabinet prepared for the House of Commons elections for a week and then issued announcements to various places.

Once this announcement was issued, it immediately attracted everyone's attention.

In Tosa Kochi Prefecture, Goto Shojiro is handling the affairs of the new company he established. Since the last time, Tosa's tax bureau and judicial prosecutor's bureau have jointly launched a campaign to target wealthy businessmen who funded the Patriotic Public Party, directly killing them all.

If he had not contacted Hongchi Company in advance, the Patriotic Public Party would soon face the dilemma of party separation due to lack of funds.

So he learned the lesson from last time and founded his own company. As for the company that funded Yataro Iwasaki before, after all, it was not as good as his own.

"Goto-sama, good news!"

Kataoka Kenji shouted and ran in all the way.

Goto Shojiro put down the information in his hand, raised his eyes and looked forward, frowning slightly and said: "Kenkichi, why are you so rude?"

Kataoka Kenkichi walked into the room, took a breath, and said excitedly: "The government has issued a new announcement, and elections for the first level of the House of Commons will begin in various places!"

"here we go!"

Goto Shojiro also became excited.

However, he calmed down immediately and asked doubtfully: "Why is it at this time?"

Kataoka Kenkichi said in shock: "What's wrong? Lord Goto, isn't it a good time for the election to start?"

Goto Shojiro shook his head and said: "You forgot, we have recently been promoting actions to strengthen the House of Commons. It is very deliberate to start the election of the House of Commons at this time."

Kataoka Kenji calmed down from his excitement, and he also discovered something was wrong with this matter.

He suddenly realized: "This is a trick of the central government!"

"This is a conspiracy, a great trend."

Goto Shojiro sighed and said: "Our plan failed. Next, we will fully respond to the election of the lower house. We must occupy at least half of the seats in Tosa Prefecture!"

Kataoka Kenkichi was a little reluctant, but Goto Shojiro had given the order, so he naturally had to comply.

"Then I'll go give instructions to the others."

He stood up immediately and walked towards the door.

Goto Shojiro raised his hand and shouted: "Wait a minute."

Kataoka Kenkichi turned around and looked at Goto Shojiro in confusion.

Goto Shojiro beckoned Kataoka Kenkichi to sit over and told him: "Kenkichi, we can't make mistakes. The lower house election is a poisonous bait thrown by Yagyu Hien. His minions will definitely keep an eye on it. Do you understand?"

Kataoka Kenkichi said with an angry look on his face: "So insidious and vicious, you'll get tricked if you're not careful!"

Goto Shojiro said with some pride: "Yagyu Heiyan has grown from a ronin to where he is today. Everyone thinks it is because of his superhuman strength, but I know that he relies on his grasp and calculation of the situation. Every step of the way. It's very accurate. The reason why Satsuma's group and the shogunate failed was because they underestimated the ingenuity of Yagyu Kigeon.

Kenji, remember, Yagyu Heiyan is a formidable opponent. Once he takes action, we have to lie dormant, otherwise we will definitely be captured by him.

Just wait and see, many nobles will definitely be tricked this time. "

Kataoka Kenkichi was a little puzzled and asked: "Why didn't Mr. Goto remind others?"

Goto Shojiro said somewhat meaningfully: "Only by letting them get into trouble can we show our brilliance, Kenji."

Kataoka Kenkichi didn't quite understand, but he still followed Goto Shojiro's instructions.

Kataoka Kenkichi immediately summoned the backbone of the Patriotic Public Party and said: "The election for the House of Commons has begun. Everyone is ready to mobilize their own connections and run for enough seats."

Someone immediately asked: "Sir Kataoka, how much does it cost to elect a seat?"

"Yes, I can find the former residents, about five hundred people, and I need at least 10,000 yen in funding."

"Then I have more people, at least a thousand people, so it will cost 20,000 yen."

Kataoka Kenkichi watched the discussion among several key people and couldn't help but patted the table when he thought of what happened before.

Everyone immediately stopped their discussion and looked at Kenkichi Kataoka.

Kataoka Kenkichi looked around the crowd and said in a serious tone: "Everyone, have you forgotten what happened before? Because of bribes from Harimaya and others, Yamada and others were arrested and imprisoned. Do you also want to follow in their footsteps?"

The backbone members had different expressions when they heard this.

Someone asked: "Lord Kataoka, what do you mean?"

"Everyone, Lord Goto has told me that our party must never do anything that violates the Election Law."

Kataoka Kenji raised his hand, stopped other people from asking questions, and said directly.

"We must use our political ideas and our strength to win the election!"

As Kataoka Kenkichi said, he looked at the expressions of these backbones, and he saw many people showing troubled expressions.

He immediately changed the subject and said: "Then how should we win the support of voters! I have several ways to provide you with this.

First of all, everyone here is not without any foundation. For example, Araki, his family has a land of 800 shi, two villages, nearly a thousand people, and at least 500 voters!

Araki can definitely play the emotional card with the citizens.

First, let’s talk to the villagers about the Araki family’s local governance over the past three hundred years.

Secondly, let’s talk about the current situation.

Finally, I would like to say that after becoming a member of Parliament, I will definitely strive for a better life for everyone.

What do you think? "

As soon as Araki heard this suggestion, he immediately clapped his hands and said: "What a great idea. Since we have to abide by the election law, let's give it a try first."

"Okay, let Mr. Araki give us a demonstration first."

Kenkichi Kataoka is very pleased that Araki can step forward.

After the meeting, Araki returned home and put on a more solemn Wu suit.

Araki came to a village outside Kochi Prefecture. This was the territory that his family had been enfeoffed for more than 200 years. Because the title was returned, his territory was also handed over.

Although he lived in Kochi County during this time, he still lived in this village before.

Araki returned to the village. As soon as the villagers saw him, they quickly greeted him with a smile: "Sir Araki, you are back!"

"I have met Mr. Araki!"

"Sir Araki, don't be surprised if I dare to take the name of Miao, Araki."

Araki greeted him kindly: "I'm very happy that everyone took the name of Miao, Araki. This shows how much everyone loves our Araki family."

"Yes, yes, we have been members of Araki-sama's family for generations, and we respect Araki-sama very much."

"If Mr. Araki needs any help, just tell the kids directly."

"Sir Araki, we will definitely support you!"

Araki smiled and held the village elder's hand. The old man was extremely excited.

Seeing this, Araki immediately said: "Village Chief, I really need everyone's help when I come back this time."

The village chief immediately patted his chest and said, "Sir Araki, just tell us, and we will definitely do it."

Araki said directly: "Now the central government is preparing to start the election for members of the House of Commons. I plan to participate. I need everyone to vote for me."

The village chief immediately said: "Don't worry, Mr. Araki, we will definitely choose you!"

Araki was still a little worried. He continued: "Village Chief, don't worry. As long as I am elected as a town councilor, I can protect everyone from being oppressed by the government. If someone uses power to oppress others, you can come to me then. I will Speak up for everyone!”

Upon hearing this, the village chief said sincerely: "Don't worry, Mr. Araki, we have been members of the Araki family for generations and have been deeply favored by the ancestors of the Araki family. We will never forget your kindness.

We believe in you, Mr. Araki, more than anyone else.

So don't worry, we will definitely vote for you. "

"it is good!"

Araki was relieved now.

He didn't come empty-handed, and soon, a group of people came over with a cart full of food. It was just a little bit of cheap food, but the fragrance was enough to make these farmers drool.

The food in this cart was enough for a whole village to have their mouths full, and now everyone remembered Araki's affection.

Compared to giving money to the villagers, giving food to everyone is more affordable and safer, and no one can find a reason.

Araki mentally applauded his little plan.

With Araki's demonstration, others followed suit.

Many people returned to their former territories and shouted: "Rural Party members, you have been the subjects of our Yamamoto family for generations and have been deeply benefited by our family. Now I want to participate in the election. I hope you will continue to support me, just like you supported my Yamamoto family before." Same!"

These tenant farmers had just been liberated and had no idea how to participate in politics. In addition, they took the Miao name and preferred warriors. They did not resist the call of the old master, but actively supported the old master.

The Patriotic Public Party relied on such measures to gain a major advantage in a short period of time.

Goto Shojiro was inspired by Kataoka Kenkichi, and he felt that he could go to his former master, the Yamauchi family, for help.

The Yamauchi family will definitely not refuse.

(End of this chapter)