What happened in Zuohe was an uprising, of course not!
It must be a rebellion.
In the eyes of the reform government, it must be a rebellion.
In the seventh year of the Meiji era, that is, on February 1, 1874, nearly 3,000 people from the old Saga domain led by Eto Shinpei, who served as a councilor, raised a banner against the new government in Saga. The main reason for their attack was to accuse.
The weak diplomacy towards North Korea overthrew the current government, restored the old parliamentary system, and greatly promoted the imperial power.
In another world, it was also on this day that the grievances accumulated by the unemployed samurai for many years broke out. But compared to the other world, they had one more reason - to demand that Wakomiya inherit the throne of the emperor.
However, what is different from history is that in another world, Eto Shinpei and others mistakenly believed that Saigo Moritaka raised troops in Kagoshima, Itagaki Taisuke raised troops in Kochi, and that it would be easy for the scholar groups of Kyushu and Shikoku to respond.
succeed.
But... they did not raise an army. Even a few years later, Saigo still raised an army, but in 1874, Saigo really did not raise an army, so Eto Shinpei's "uprising" was quickly put down.
But this time, Xixiang... faced completely different choices from the last time.
"Do it, Your Excellency!"
In the auditorium of the private school, Kirino Toshiaki, Shinohara Kunikan, Murata Shinpachi, Beppu Shinsuke and others all stood in front of Saigo Takamori, and they all said loudly.
"His Majesty the Emperor, he died inexplicably. How he died must be explained to them!"
"Yes, Your Excellency, not only that, but now that His Majesty the Emperor has died suddenly, if there is no evil in the government's mind, he will definitely inherit the throne of the Emperor with his son, Prince Nauchi. Why is there no news yet!"
"Your Excellency, the Emperor suddenly became seriously ill after Your Excellency resigned angrily. He died suddenly in just a few months. One cannot help but wonder whether Iwakura and others were plotting to murder the Emperor."
"Yes, Your Excellency, maybe it was because the Emperor came to his senses and wanted to safeguard the rights and interests of our warrior family that he was assassinated by them!"
This is simply ridiculous!
Saigo Takamori had this thought in his mind. He did not believe in these conspiracies, but His Majesty did die in a very strange way!
Mainly because His Majesty's illness is so strange. Although His Majesty had fallen ill before he left Tokyo, what kind of illness was it? No one could tell the reason, and no one knew what it was.
, will cause those symptoms to occur.
He even once suspected that His Majesty was infected with syphilis, but the doctors said that even syphilis would not show those symptoms.
It was precisely because of the strangeness that he had doubts. But he would never doubt that Iwakura Tomomi and the others would assassinate His Majesty the Emperor.
After all, the emperor is the source of their power. How could they assassinate the emperor when he still trusts them?
"It's not the right time to raise troops now..."
Looking at these cronies who resigned with him in the auditorium, Saigo Takamori said.
"If we rashly raise troops now, we are likely to fail."
In Saigo Takamori's heart, he was absolutely unwilling to start an army. He founded a private school not to oppose the imperial court, but to prevent Russia from moving south.
"Your Excellency, now that the emperor has died under mysterious circumstances, there are tens of thousands of nobles inside and outside the city who are willing to obey your orders at any time. As long as you give an order, they will definitely be willing to follow you, even if they are willing to die."
Kirino Toshiaki said loudly, and he was not exaggerating. Many gentry admired Saigo very much, especially the lower-class gentry. In fact, among the heroes of the Restoration, only Saigo and a few others cared about the interests of the lower-class gentry. The reason why he
The idea of "conquering Korea" was not so much for expansion as it was to find a way out for the lower-class nobles.
A few months ago, the most important reason why Saigo Takamori left the central government and returned to the local government was because he had a disagreement with the acting Taizonggong Iwakura Tomomi on the "conquest of Korea" and was because he was detrimental to the implementation of the Meiji government.
He was dissatisfied with the policy of benefiting lower-level samurai. He sympathized with the miserable experiences of lower-level samurai after the Meiji Restoration. In a letter asking Satsuma Domain to rescue a soldier who participated in the civil war, he wrote: "In the situation of life and death, treat it like a private property.
After the matter is decided, it should be discarded immediately, affecting morality and justice."
In one of his widely circulated poems about his ambition in Japan, he also wrote: "After many hardships, my ambition was strengthened, and my husband's love was shattered and disgraced. Did anyone know about the family's legacy? They did not buy beautiful land for their children and grandchildren." He even disliked many governments.
High-ranking officials pursue fame and fortune and are extremely extravagant. They are accused of forgetting "righteousness" for "profit".
"Your Excellency, Zuo He and all the warriors in the world are watching you! If we don't have troops, they will die in vain!"
Shinohara Kunigan also said loudly. At this time, he seemed a little excited.
"As a samurai, we should die for our lord, but now that the emperor has died violently, how can we, as ministers, not seek justice for the emperor!"
It has to be said that Shinohara Kunikan knew Saigo. After he made this careless statement, Saigo Takamori frowned. He stared into the distance and was silent for a while before speaking.
"If we raise an army, not only will we most likely die on the battlefield, but our reputation will also be ruined and we will leave a legacy of shame to future generations!"
"Your Excellency, we are willing to follow you!"
Facing the unhesitating following of his cronies, Saigo Takamori was speechless for a moment.
After hesitating for a moment, he said.
"If that's the case, then...let's do it!"
On February 4th, a meeting was held in the private school auditorium. Shinohara Kunikan, Kirino Akuri, Murata Shinpachi, Beppu Shinsuke and others unanimously elected Saigo Takamori as their leader and raised an army against the government. The next day, Saigo Takamori began to recruit troops.
, the private school was changed into the Sajun base camp, and the branch branch was changed into a branch camp, and 3,000 people were recruited on the same day.
On February 4, 1874, just as the interim Grand Administrator Iwakura Tomomi had just ordered the Army Ministry to send troops to quell the "Saga Rebellion", but before the troops were dispatched, news of Saigo Takamori's rebellion came again.
Compared to others, as a hero of the Restoration and as he had continuously spoken out for ordinary gentry in the past few years, Saigo Takamori's rebellion had already gained popularity and received an immediate response from many people.
For a time, Japan was in shock. At the same time, unemployed nobles from all over the country raised troops to respond to Saigo Takakatsu's troops.
An unprecedented crisis broke out in Japan before the Spring Festival in 1874. The news of this civil war had far greater impact than the Southwest War a few years later in another world. The emperor died of a sudden illness and the chaos in the succession of the throne directly led to
Civil war broke out not only in Kyushu, but also in Honshu and other places.
Although the Ming Dynasty did not pay much attention to Japan, after all, it was just a small country worth mentioning.
However, because Ryukyu was controlled by the Ming Dynasty, when news came that Saigo Takamori of Kyushu had launched a rebellion, Ding Yunsong, the Ming army colonel and governor of Ryukyu, immediately thought of the "weak Japan policy" that His Majesty once mentioned.
What is a weak Japan? Of course, it means weakening Japan as much as possible.
After discussing with the staff officers of the Governor's Mansion for half a day, a decision was immediately made - privately providing 5,000 old Spencer rifles and millions of rounds of ammunition to Saigo Takamori, as well as more than 20 cannons and a large number of
Mortars and artillery shells.
As an expert in arching fire, in fact, the officials of the Ming Dynasty all had some talent. Of course, a more important reason is that because of its remote location, the emperor gave those governors a lot of autonomy, and they could not be allowed to do so when problems occurred.
, we have to wait for a reply from the local government in one or two months.
This is precisely the difference between those governors and ordinary officials. They can make their decisions at any time based on changes in the current situation and personal judgment, without considering the final decision of the local area.
This is exactly why the colonies of various European countries have been able to maintain for hundreds of years - the governors of the colonies absolutely have the supreme power in the places where they are responsible!
And this is precisely the most taboo thing in the traditional Chinese bureaucracy culture - the traditional Chinese bureaucracy not only protects against military generals, but also against civilian officials, and against those officials who have feudal borders and become local separatist forces.
What is the core of traditional Chinese rule?
It’s never about expansion, it’s about maintenance!
Maintain the emperor's rule! So no matter how the dynasty changes, the country will eventually be governed by the Shang king's method. We must be weak to the people, and of course we must be weak to the officials.
Whether it is weak people or weak officials, it means that they lose the ability to self-judgment and self-determination. Ultimately, through this domestication, the ruler's rule is maintained.
But the foundation of the Ming Dynasty was expansion. Therefore, officials were constantly given more autonomy.
This is also the fundamental reason why he can make judgments and decisions based on the situation in front of him without worrying about being held accountable.
"Xixiang is a nice guy!"
In fact, even without His Majesty's decree a few years ago, Ding Yunsong would have given him certain assistance within his ability, because the two of them had some personal relationships, and he also admired the upright Japanese army general very much.
of.
Now he wants to seek justice for the soldiers who were betrayed. This matter... makes sense!
When dispatching ships to deliver a large amount of arms to Xixiang Longsheng, Ding Yunsong said to himself again.
"This should be in line with His Majesty's decision..."
This chapter has been completed!