In the first month of the fifth year of Ansei (1858), the shogunate finally issued an order to deal with Naohide.

In the seventh month of the previous year, the Hakushu Hoshiro defeated the Lucian war fleet, and then Hoshino Hide rushed to Edo to wait for disposal. After waiting for half a year, he finally got a result that was not a conclusion.

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"Recuperate in peace, Lord Bai, and all affairs will be handled by Jiangchuan Yingtoshi."

It may be said that it was a punishment, but it did not remove Naohide Shiro from his duties; it may be said that he was let go, but in fact Naohide was placed under house arrest in Edo.

Such an ambiguous decision certainly caused controversy between the government and the opposition:

Since the first visit of Miren Kurofune on June 3, the sixth year of Kayei (1853), the shogunate has made concessions step by step, which naturally caused dissatisfaction among many people.

There are many forces demanding a tough attitude towards foreign countries. These people are led by Tokugawa Saiaki, the old lord of Mito. They usually echo each other - the more active among them are Mito and Owari of the Gosan family, Ichihashi of the Gosan family, and Tokugawa Tokugawa.

Fukui of the Kawachi Domain, Uwajima and Kagoshima among the foreign daimyo.

At the same time, a considerable number of people among the gendai daimyo, waiyang daimyo and ministers supported this lineage.

In the eyes of these people, "Baizhu's battle was not only reasonable but also won cleanly and beautifully. It greatly increased Fuso's prestige and deserved to be highly praised."

Therefore, the way the idle straight show was handled caused quite a stir.

In response to this, Qi Zhao and others wrote a letter, "Lucia was unreasonable and Bai Zhu had no fault. He also defeated the enemy and deserved praise. His idle behavior is puzzling."

To be honest, these memorials are reasonable and reasonable - because there was no agreement between Lucia and the shogunate before, Lucia's invasion of the White Lord was an invasion! The White Lord's counterattack was indeed correct, and he won the battle, which can be said to be very satisfying. Therefore, the shogunate was idle.

Nao Soo is really a bit unreasonable.

However, the veterans of the shogunate who made this decision felt aggrieved, "Naohide was only recuperated from illness and was not demoted or dismissed. This is not bad!"

After all, in the four or five years since Kurofune's visit, the attitude of the shogunate's ministers towards foreign affairs has become increasingly relaxed, so everyone knows that Naohide did the right thing and did a good job, but when it comes to rewarding Naohide, no one dares to do so.

The reason is very simple. It was okay not to know before. Now the more I know about the overseas situation, the less sure I feel.

There are seven days in the cave and a thousand years in the world.

Although Seoguo did not have a thousand years but only two hundred years, and the shogunate still retained the external channel of Languo, but now everyone opens their eyes and sees that the world has become too strange:

Take the globe as an example. In the past, everyone thought it was a lie. How could there be so many countries in the world! The Kami, Lucia, and England came to Hong Kong one after another. Now that the facts are in front of you, you can’t believe it.

Moreover, everyone has seen the steamship with their own eyes, and it is indeed sailing without wind. The Western countries have strong ships and powerful guns, but Fuso is too far behind!

Therefore, we cannot fight, we cannot afford to fight.

Moreover, the current situation is not suitable for overly provoking Lucia - the Lucia people have never come to Fuso to negotiate, so the veterans of the White Lord War do not dare to draw a final conclusion.

The five senior middlemen all felt that this matter was unpredictable, and based on the current situation, it was best to wait.

What happened to make the old Chinese so hesitant?

That was the Yarrow War.

In October of the fourth year of Anzheng (1857), Xianheng's foreign trade urgently reported that the Yarrow War broke out, and the British began to attack China Yangcheng.

According to the news, the outcome for the Tang Dynasty this time is probably not good either - it is estimated to be the same as the last Battle of the South China Sea in the 13th year of Tianbao (1842). The prospects are very bleak when they are outmatched.

The old Chinese are afraid that the southern barbarians have the same culture and race. If they think that the shogunate handles foreign affairs unfairly, it would be extremely bad if the English come to Fuso to vent their anger on the Lucians!

You can spank your own children at will, and others

Give it a try!

People share this sentiment, so the senior middlemen feel that they are right, and they must guard against the Southern Barbarians getting together.

But unlike what Qi Zhao and others thought, most of the important officials of the shogunate, including several senior middlemen, felt that Naohide Hori had done a good job and relieved his anger, so they left Naohide idle to care for and protect him.

The preliminary plan at that time was that even if several Westerners really joined forces to persecute Naohide, it would be a big deal to remove Naohide from his service. As for punishment, there must be no such thing! - Even if there is, it will only be superficial, and Naohide will be punished in the future.

It still needs to be reused.

Because Master Bai did a solid job and got the photos, evidence and signatures before releasing the prisoners, it was rare for the veterans to act together this time. If Lucia refused to let him go, he would not even pay compensation.

Then let's start the fight! - The old Chinese are not stupid. If there is no bottom line at all, then isn't it just at the mercy of others?

Moreover, the old and middle-aged people are also ready for mediation through other channels.

Lan Guo is on the one hand - through the legends of Xianheng Yangxing, the old and middle-aged people now know that Lan Guo is really in trouble, but in the spirit of the small mosquitoes are also meat, the shogunate still entrusted Lan Guo to mediate.

But what they are counting on in their hearts is not Lan Guo, but Mi people!

The Japanese special envoy Harris arrived at Shimoda Port in July of the third year of Ansei (1856).

To be honest, the shogunate was very resistant to Harris's request for trade, so it always declined. Due to Naohide's interference, the shogunate now had some capital. Having capital naturally brought confidence, so it did not do so in 1857.

In June of that year, the "Fuso America Agreement", a supplementary clause to the "Fuso America Agreement" was signed.

But form is stronger than people. As soon as the Arrow War broke out in China last autumn, the shogunate changed its attitude and agreed to start negotiations.

So starting from December of the fourth year of Ansei (1857), Shimoda was promoted to Inoue Kiyannao, and the foreign trade minister Tadatsuki Iwase came forward. After the two sides discussed it for thirteen times, they finally reached a draft in early January of this year.

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The Mi people's special envoy Harris was so happy that he promised to mediate the dispute between Fuso and Lucia.

This is also why the order was given to Zhixiu only at the beginning of the first year - the senior middlemen had the courage to leave Zhixiu idle. Otherwise, how to deal with it would continue to be delayed.

Therefore, Qi Zhao and others wrote a letter to express their grievances for Naohide, but the important ministers of the shogunate ignored it, "Ignorant people, reckless people! You must know that we not only arranged Naohide clearly, but also considered the shogunate affairs extremely carefully!"

The Qi Zhao group had been quarreling for a few days, but it stopped because the chief of Lao Zhong, Hota Masamushi, was no longer in Edo - Hota Masamu and the envoy for the survey and foreign trade, Kakegawa Road, Shomo, were on an envoy to Kyoto in the first month of the year.

The quarrel was gone, the quarrel was in vain, and there were more important things to do than how to deal with Naoxiu, so the situation gradually calmed down.

What is so important?

This is the way to establish an heir! That is, to decide who the next shogun will be.

When Hota and Kawaji went to Kyoto as envoys, in addition to asking the small court to approve the trade agreement with the Mi people, they also shouldered the important task of requesting approval for the establishment of an heir.

For such a big event, Naohide's matter was put aside, and each family sent their confidants to Kyoto to contact the minister, hoping that their candidate would win.

The current shogun Jiading inherited the throne in November of the sixth year of Jiayong (1853), when he was thirty years old.

It stands to reason that one's thirties is the time when the Spring and Autumn Period is at its peak, and the matter of establishing an heir can be considered in the long term.

However, Tokugawa Iesada had been weak and sick since he was a child, and had a weird and violent temper. There was controversy before he succeeded to the throne, which meant that many people were not optimistic that he could take over the throne.

In December of the fourth year of Honghua (1847), the then Duke Jiaqing made an important decision and arranged for Tokugawa Yingxi to take over as the head of the Hitotsubashi family.

The eleventh generation general Jia Qi and the twelfth generation general Jia Qing both came from

The Hitotsubashi family, so Hitotsubashi was considered to be the head of the three imperial ministers. Therefore, Qingxi became the head of the Hitotsubashi family, and was generally considered to be a candidate for Nishimaru-like at that time. At that time, most of the biological sons of the father-in-law Jiaqing died in infancy, leaving only

Jiaxiang had only one seedling. Jiaxiang, later known as Jiading, was in very poor health and had no heirs.

After the shogun Iekei died of a sudden illness in the sixth year of Kayei, there were rumors that the seventeen-year-old Keihe would replace the original Nishimaruta Ieho.

Although Jiading succeeded to the throne in the end, because Jiading had no heirs after that, the popularity of the celebration increased again, and many people believed that he would eventually take over.

Before being adopted into the Hitotsubashi family, Qingxi was the seventh son of Tokugawa Saiaki.

Because Qingxi is expected to ascend to the throne and love the whole family, his father Qi Zhao is also favored. This is also one of the important reasons why the Qi Zhao family is so powerful - there is nothing wrong with fawning over him in advance, it will all be friendship in the future!

Especially last year, the fourth year of Anzheng (1857), Jiading's health was not very good, so the matter of establishing an heir was put on the agenda.

This matter is not offensive at all. The father-in-law is already thirty-four years old, and it has been more than half a year since his wedding to Princess Atsuhime of the Shimazu family, but there are still signs of having children. Regarding this, the ministers

Very worried.

The Tokugawa family, the head of the Tokugawa family was the general who conquered the barbarians of the shogunate, so family is the country, and family affairs are state affairs. This has never been like Nishimaru, and it is indeed easy to cause suspicion and turmoil.

It stands to reason that since the time of the late Oisho Iekei, Hitotsubashi Keihe has been regarded as a candidate for the crown prince. After ten years of accumulation, Keihe himself is quite talented and famous. It should be a matter of course for Keihe to become the crown prince.

thing.

But things didn’t develop like this at all. To explain in one sentence, if future generations cheated their fathers, they would cheat their sons—Qingxi was dragged down by Qi Zhao!

Qingxi's biological father, Tokugawa Qiaki, has an outgoing personality and a clear distinction between love and hate.

Originally, there was nothing wrong with his personal character, but Qi Zhao also behaved in the same way in official matters, leaving no room for himself or others, and facing his faults directly.

Fuso was a man-made man at this time, he valued magnanimity and harmony, so many people, especially the Daimyos and Shogun Hatamotos, did not like Qi Zhao, and it could even be said that they hated him.

The deceased Daigosho Jiaqing hated Qi Zhao, and so did the current father-in-law's biological mother, Honjuin, but their reasons were different - Jiaqing believed that Qi Zhao was too sharp and acted recklessly, and often contradicted him in person.

, and Honjuin was not only influenced by her husband, but also because she cared about her son.

There were rumors that Qingxi wanted to seize the throne before his son Jia Ding succeeded to the throne. What mother could bear this!

As for the theory circulated in later generations that Qi Zhao's proposal to ask Daou to be frugal and thus offended Honjuin is not groundless, but this reason cannot be put on the table after all - because no matter how frugal he is, he can't be as frugal as the general's biological mother!

During the Edo period, the shogunate governed government based on Confucianism, which was inseparable from benevolence, justice, loyalty and filial piety. Therefore, the views of his deceased father, the still living Honjuin, Qi Akira, deeply influenced Kōkata's family decision.

Furthermore, Jiading also hated Qi Zhao - he was in poor health and didn't like making noise, but Qi Zhao often spoke fiercely, had a loud voice and had an excited attitude, which made Jiading feel very uncomfortable.

In addition, the chief veteran, Masumu Hota, and another veteran, Tadashi Matsudaira, are also Qi Zhao's mortal enemies.

Therefore, these people joined forces to prevent Qi Zhao's son Qingxi from becoming the general prince Nishimaruyan.

However, Naohide believes that the reasons why Qi Zhao cheated his son are not just these - although personal preference is indeed crucial in the human system, after all, the establishment of a general's heir is also a military and national event, and everyone must still be more or less cautious and take the overall situation into consideration.

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Naohide once discussed the current situation of the shogunate with Egawa Hidetoshi and Okubo Toshiichi. When talking about Tokugawa Saiaki, Naohide once said, "Kageyama's governance is rough and he may not be popular with the public."
Chapter completed!