In August of the second year of Ansei (1855), due to pressure from the Qi Zhao clique, the two old Chinese who supported the signing of the agreement with the Western countries, Matsudaira Noritsu and Matsudaira Tadyu, were dismissed. However, this incident triggered a fierce backlash from their opponents.

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In order to establish a new generation of daimyo, the main forces of the Daishen family began to unite and quickly counterattacked. In October of the same year, the candidates for the senior middle school proposed by Qi Zhao's family were not adopted, and they supported the two deposed senior middle schools, the head of the Sakura Hota family Masumu

He was promoted to Lao Zhong and was in charge of diplomatic affairs with foreign countries.

In the same month, the Great Edo Earthquake broke out. Abe's aide Masahiro, who was exhausted mentally and physically, gave up the title of Lao Chu to Hota, while he retired from the position of superior Lao Chu.

Repeated political situations like this are the inevitable result of the reshaping of the power structure.

In June of the seventh year of Kayei, that is, in June of the first year of Ansei (1854), facing the oppression of Western countries, the shogunate had to put forward the slogan of supporting Fuso, hoping to unite all forces to overcome the difficulties.

At that time, the plan of Lao Naka Abe and others was very good. They hoped that the introduction of the power of the Tokugawa pro-vassal Qi Zhao family would enhance the strength and influence of the shogunate, and then attract the forces that were originally on the edge of power-the small imperial court in Kyoto and foreign affairs.

Such a famous name can kill three birds with one stone, which can not only ensure the stability of the situation, but also maintain the initiative of the shogunate, and at the same time suppress the officials within the shogunate who are still stubborn.

But what I never expected was that after the old Mito feudal lord Qi Zhao came back, he was indeed very powerful and had many supporters. However, Qi Zhao and his family inexplicably abandoned their tacit understanding and pointed the finger directly at the senior middle school evaluation committee at the center of the shogunate.

As a result, what could have been a great situation turned into a pot of porridge - instead of being able to unite sincerely, the close feudal lords, the daimyō, and Hatamoto started fighting within the shogunate!

In the seventh month of Ansei (1857) and the calendar year, before Naohide rushed to Edo to plead guilty, the Shirozhu execution office conducted a situation analysis. At that time, Egawa Hidetoshi told Naohide's various shortcomings on behalf of Naohide:

First of all, being motivated is Qi Zhao's biggest problem.

A gentleman hides his weapon in his body and waits for the time to move.

But Qi Zhao, who was proud of his talent and arrogance, didn't - the tacit understanding he established with Laozhong's Chief Abe's Attendant before his comeback was soon destroyed by himself.

Qi Zhao retired in the first year of Honghua (1844), and the position of head of the Mito family was handed over to his son Keitsu. In order to allow him to come back and participate in the shogunate, Abe pushed the shogunate to appoint him in the sixth year of Kayei (1853).

Coastal defense hanging.

But in the second year after his comeback, Qi Zhao resigned from Haiphong himself because he was dissatisfied with the signing of the "Fuso-American Peace Agreement".

Later, with Abe's efforts, the shogunate appointed Qi Zhao to supervise the construction of the navy.

However, due to making too many enemies, Qi Zhao and his family have never been able to obtain any important service positions after going round and round.

Today, the governance of Fuso is dominated by the shogunate, and the two centers of the shogunate are the shogunate and the Laozhong Appraisal Committee - the shogunate and other ministers have the final decision-making power by influencing the shogunate; the Laozhong Appraisal Committee of the shogunate

The pinnacle of service, possessing administrative power.

Originally, because Qi Zhao was well-known, had a high status, and clearly explained the shortcomings of the founding of the country, everyone in the White Lord had a good impression of him. However, as time went by, Naoxiu and others discovered that this Qi Zhao was a fierce general rather than a handsome man.

Qi Zhao played a good hand of cards to pieces:

With many supporters, he is popular; as the top vassal of the Tokugawa family, he is famous.

Qi Zhao, who is expected to have both fame and status, has been entangled in the right and wrong of specific matters and completely missed the key points.

Take the dismissal of two senior middlemen as an example. Going into battle shirtless is undesirable, and it is even more of a joke that Qi Zhao and his colleagues did not get the vacated senior middleman position!

Ever since they put forward the idea of ​​"unifying Fuso", Abe and his family have opened the door to the dictatorship of the shogunate. As long as Qi Zhao patiently cooperates with him, whether the general is close to the people or the old man, these two top-level positions will definitely be achieved.

Give up some positions to Qi Zhao's first line.

But Qi Zhao insisted on resorting to such a drastic method as impeachment, which was completely superfluous and went too far.

Yes, there are some drawbacks to the agreements signed with the Western countries, but if you insist on making a fuss about this, you will only make enemies in vain - you can just be patient for a while and wait until your own group takes control of the political affairs before making corrections. It's good now, you have to

Knowing that there were many daimyo and ministers who supported the signing of the agreement, Qi Zhao immediately pushed these people into the position of enemies.

It's either right or wrong. With such a person in power, can the political situation be stable? The violent methods of Qi Zhao's group have caused many people to worry.

As a result, many people's stance changed from neutral to opposition, which led to the removal of two senior middlemen, but Qi Zhao and others did not get any of the vacated positions!

As a mature politician, compromise and exchange of interests are inevitable, but Qi Zhao was too impulsive and added many unnecessary difficulties to himself.

Qi Zhao's second weakness is his general incomprehension.

Of course, this is also a problem for chief veteran Abe Masahiro.

Now that it is proposed to unite Fusang, the original power structure must be changed:

In the original shogunate structure, the generals, ministers, and senior officials were the top officials.

The radical change method is to start from scratch and establish a new system - but this can easily cause major turbulence and make it difficult for all parties to reach an agreement.

A more moderate approach is to replace people - the structure remains unchanged, but the sources of candidates are broadened, allowing more daimyo and even foreign daimyo to serve in these two positions, so as to achieve the purpose of extensive participation in politics.

In Naohide's original world, the shogunate first adopted a conciliatory approach, but after finding that it was not effective, it had to adopt a radical approach.

However, until the end of the second year of Anzheng (1855), Qi Zhao's clique could not come up with an eye-catching structural change plan. They only continued to write letters attacking the senior and middle-ranking ministers in power.

What everyone is looking forward to is a solution to the problem, not to find fault - sometimes it is difficult to judge the right and wrong of governance, and it takes a long time to verify. Therefore, Lord Bai and others believe that Qi Zhao's system is "roughly unreasonable and in the wrong direction."

Moreover, the Qi Zhao family has a fatal weakness, which is the respect for the king and the respect for Shinto in the Mito doctrine.

The Mito School was a branch of Fuso Chinese Studies, and its counterpart at that time was Confucianism - the official school of the shogunate at the time, Shoheihuo, taught Zhuzi's Confucianism.

In fact, the two have some similarities. They both pay attention to respect and observance of etiquette. However, Mito's theory is arrogant and arrogant. In order to prove that Fuso is excellent, he will myth the imperial family.

I don’t know whether Qi Zhao really followed the Mito doctrine or was trying to restrict the shogunate. In short, under his impetus, Qi Zhao and his family asked the shogunate to obtain the support of the royal family in foreign negotiations.

When the Tokugawa shogunate was first established, the shogunate forced the royal family to "entrust great government" to itself through the "Prohibition and Incorporation of Public Laws". According to later generations, the small Fuso court could not even rubber stamp, and the shogunate's decree was just a formality

This form is just a matter of filing in Kyoto.

After the visit of the black ships, Abe and others, out of long-term considerations, began to win over the Fuso royal family in order to prevent the Nanman countries and interested people from causing trouble in the name of the royal family. While improving their treatment, they also began to pretend to ask for instructions from Kyoto - "Fuso Rice Country"

After the signing of the "Marriage Agreement", the small court in Kyoto expressed dissatisfaction, but Abe and other senior Chinese only explained more and did not pay much attention to it.

However, the Qi Zhao family continued to put pressure on the ruling ministers, especially the old middlemen, in the name of the royal family, which led to the increasing influence of the Fuso royal family. After all, the royal family "entrusted the government" to the shogunate. If the powerful faction got the support of the small court in Kyoto

, in extreme circumstances, you can raise troops to challenge the shogunate. This is the so-called "great justice" that has been passed down for thousands of years in Fuso.

By limiting the authority of the shogunate, many foreign daimyo also supported the Qi

King Zhaozun’s proposition.

But for the many close daimyo of the Tokugawa family, the genealogical daimyo and the banner, this is undoubtedly "Tai'a holds the hand and delegates authority to others". No matter how hard we fight among ourselves, we can't take advantage of outsiders, so Qi Zhao is the minister of the shogunate.

There is a suspicion of cheating.

As for respecting Shinto, just like respecting the king, the Mito doctrine was developed based on the conceit of Fuso - Shinto is local to Fuso, and Buddhism was introduced from outside. Is there any "difference between inside and outside"?

However, Fuso Buddhism is flourishing. From the government to the common people and town residents, nine out of ten are Buddhists, while there are very few Shinto believers. It's not that they don't believe in it, but that there are many believers.

The kind that can't get up.

Out of his own inclination, Qi Zhao vigorously promoted respecting the king and respecting Shinto in his administration, which naturally aroused dissatisfaction among many people.

Therefore, the powerful Qi Zhao family is composed of relatives, friends, and speculators who share the same political views. In fact, their cohesion is very poor.

With these shortcomings, he was naturally looked down upon by Naohide and others, and the subsequent development of the shogunate struggle confirmed this view.

In August of the second year of Ansei (1855), Lao Nakamatsu Matsudaira was enthroned, and Matsudaira Chuyu was dismissed. However, in October of that year, the new Lao Nakamatsu Hota Masatatsu was still Qi Zhao's mortal enemy.

Soon after, the Great Edo Earthquake broke out, and Abe's servant Masahiro gave up the title of Laozhong to Hotta. After that, Hota and his people were in tit-for-tat confrontation with Qi Zhao and others.

Especially in the negotiations with Western countries, the Horita clan had the upper hand, and the tone of the founding of the country for trade had been formed. In October of the third year of Ansei (1856), the coastal defense bureau was cancelled, and the foreign trade bureau was newly established, indicating that the shogunate had made a decision.

determined to found the country.

In November of the third year of the Ansei period (1856), the Duke of Nakajia decided to marry the princess of the Shimazu family, Atsuhime. Because the head of the Shimazu family, Qi Bin, was a member of the Qi Zhao family, the situation was restored.

The Qi Zhao family, which had been unable to obtain the power of the shogunate for a long time, issued a warning in May of the fourth year of Ansei (1857), "The Tokugawa clan of all feudal lords was established to establish the title of elder, elder and middle officer. The elder was sometimes abolished.

Lao Zhong was always in power, and he also wrote that all the relatives and vassals took turns to discuss government affairs, and they gradually became more straight."

Afterwards, many ministers wrote letters asking Gong Fang to establish an heir.

The battle for the shogunate became fierce, focusing on the selection of two candidates, the crown prince and the elder of the shogunate. The "eldest elder" is a special service position in the shogunate. It is above the elders and above ten thousand people under the emperor.

Location.

The candidates supported by Sai Zhao's family were the crown prince Keiki Hitotsubara and the elder Matsudaira Keinaga, while Horita and others supported Keifuku, the lord of the Kishu domain, to be Nishi Maruno, and at the same time they were very resistant to the appointment of the elder.

In June of the same year, Masahiro Abe, the leader of the victorious party, was critically ill. Without Abe, who was originally in the middle to coordinate all parties, the battle between Qi Zhao's clan and Horita and others lost control.

That month, the chief of Lao Zhong, Masumu Horita, who changed his name from Masatoshi to Masumu after Atsuhime took office, canceled Qi Zhao's errand to supervise the construction of the navy. From then on, Qi Zhao was isolated from the shogunate.

In July, as the Yarrow War between the Anglo-French Allied Forces and China continued to expand, the shogunate abolished the foreign trade bureau, established foreign service posts, and began to prepare for trade negotiations with the Mi people's special envoy Harris.

In December, under the fierce opposition of the Qi Zhao clan, the draft of the "Fuso Mi Ren Trade Agreement" was completed.

In the first month of the fifth year of Ansei, Chief Lao Zhong and President of Foreign Affairs Hota Masumu decided to appoint the official and foreign official Sichuan Road Shomo. The two set off for Kyoto to apply for the agreed imperial edict from the small imperial court.

Prior to this, Qi Zhao and Hota Masumu had already sent people to Kyoto for activities. In addition to the agreed matters, they also included an edict on the candidate for Nishimaru - the selection of the Shogun Crown Prince was originally an internal matter of the Tokugawa family. In the past, it was just
Chapter completed!