In the fifth year of Ansei (1858), the shogunate signed trade agreements with Western countries without receiving any orders.

Such breaking of political rules led to the emergence of the "Wuwu Secret Edict", and the emergence of the secret edict triggered the beginning of the Anzheng Prison, and the "Wuwu Disaster" began.

In fact, the small imperial court had very sinister intentions in sending the decree to Qi Zhao - even though the decree seemed to be full of good words to persuade peace, but if that was the case, why did it appear in the form of a secret decree? Since it appeared in the form of a secret decree,

In fact, it was to confer "great justice" to Qi Zhao, hoping that the Mito clan would not be able to bear it and launch military remonstrance.

You know, among the two people who delivered the letter, Monk Yuezhao was a close confidant of the minister, while Saigo Takayaga was a close associate of Qi Bin, the head of the Satsuma Shimazu family!

In a world without Naohide's intrusion, Qi Bin was actively preparing for war in Kagoshima, Kyushu when the Wu Wu Secret Order appeared. However, before the official launch of the army, he suddenly fell ill and died on the 16th day of the seventh month in the Japanese calendar. Speaking of which, Qi Bin is still the same as he is today.

As for the father-in-law appointed by the father-in-law family, isn't the Mito Tokugawa family also one of the top three feudal and imperial families? In politics, there are only interests and no human feelings at all!

Therefore, the Wuwu secret edict was a sword, and when it was handed to Qi Zhao, it was to urge him to start an army immediately in the name of it.

But Mito is very close to Edo, only about 100 kilometers according to later generations. So does Qi Zhao have the courage?

Of course there is!

Qi Zhao is an extraordinary person, he is very decisive in killing.

From the moment he succeeded to the throne, this man took an unusual path. Tokugawa Saiaki took office as the lord of the Mito domain in the 12th year of Bunsei (1829), but the process was not a son inheriting his father's legacy in the ordinary sense:

At that time, the eighth-generation feudal lord Saixiu died of a sudden illness. Since he had no children, the then-gongfang family leader wanted his son, Tsunezhicheng, to take over Mito.

However, although Qi Xiu had no children, he had a younger brother. This man was Torasaburo. Based on the samurai of the Mito School, Torasaburo mobilized the lower-level samurai to cause trouble everywhere, and finally drove away Hisashi Cheng who tried to occupy the nest. He himself

He got his wish and became the head of the family, changing his name to Qi Zhao.

It was a farce like the fight between wealthy families in later generations, which brought about two serious consequences:

First, from then on, the three Dukes, Fang Jiaqi, Jiaqing, and Jiading, were all at odds with Qi Zhao;

Second, because of their role as guardians and because Qi Zhao wanted to use them as his base to prevent unexpected events, the samurai of the Mito School began to influence the feudal government.

Although Qi Zhao was ordered to retire by the shogunate in the first year of Honghua (1844), the actual power of the Mito Domain did not fall into the hands of the new lord Keitsu, and was still firmly controlled by Qi Zhao's family.

Therefore, although Qi Zhao was "cautious" by the shogunate again this time, after all, it was only a little more than a month ago, so he still had the strength to raise his troops - of course, whether he could win the battle or not is another matter.

However, although the secret edict was delivered to the hands of the two generations of Mito Tokugawa family heads, the military uprising expected by the small court in Kyoto and those who were interested did not happen. The reason is, "if a few things are not kept secret, it will cause harm" - the news leaked, and the shogunate

Being on guard, Qi Zhao and his son did not dare to act rashly.

Moreover, if we really talk about it, whether Qi Zhao agrees to raise troops is probably a big question:

Qi Zhao and his family were incompatible with Jing Yi and others who were in charge of the shogunate at that time, but even if they fought to the death, Qi Zhao would not be able to make an easy decision to raise troops to clear the emperor's side.

After all, although the so-called Sai Zhao clan has attracted public ministers and foreign daimyo, its core is Mito and Owari, the top three pro-lord families. The political struggle is just an internal fight in the shogunate. Therefore, even if the Sai Zhao clan loses power, what they get

The punishment is nothing more than seclusion and caution, and at least his life is safe.

But if the troops are raised, the nature will change, and the weapons will flow into rivers of blood. It will be easy to win, but defeat will inevitably lead to death, and the risk is very high.

Moreover, although Qi Zhao and his family are synonymous with Uwajima, Kagoshima, Kochi and other foreign famous names, Qi Zhao is actually very wary of these people and is also on guard against these people taking advantage of the situation.

Therefore, although the Wuwu Secret Edict reached the hands of Qi Zhao and his son on August 16, the expected Mito military remonstrance did not happen. Instead, the news leaked, which triggered a resolute counterattack by the shogunate:

On August 19, a copy of the secret decree was delivered to the shogunate's senior officials, and the person who leaked the secret was Mito's "Moroccan Party"!

The so-called "Zhusheng Party" is relative to the "Tengu Party" - Qi Zhao has controlled the Mito domain for nearly thirty years and promoted many lower-level samurai. These people were deeply influenced by the Mito doctrine that advocated "respecting the king", so

He acted "crazy" and was slandered as a "Tiangu"; and the "Zhu Sheng Dang" was named because its members were mostly influenced by Zhu Xi's Confucianism.

On August 19, the fifth year of Ansei (1858), members of the Mito clan submitted a copy of the secret decree to Edo, which triggered an in-depth investigation of the matter by the shogunate.

In early September, the shogunate finally started to take action - on the night of September 7th, Tadayoshi Sakai, the governor of Kyoto, and Nagano Shozen, the mastermind of Dai Lao Ii, joined forces to capture Genjiro Umeda, who was later known as one of the "Four Evil Conspirators".

The "Four Evil Conspiracy Kings" designated by the shogunate are Umeda Kumohama, Aikawa Hoshigan, Yori Miki Saburo and Ikeuchi University. Among them, Umeda is a ronin; Aikawa is a poet, with the reputation of Fuso Li Bai; and the latter two are famous Confucian scholars.

By.

These four people are all closely related to the ministers, and they often carry out activities centered on Kyoto to respect the king and fight against the barbarians. Among them, Umeda is an activist and has some private armed forces in his hands. The next three are famous and influential.

Almost at the same time as Umeda Genjiro, the shogunate also began to take action in Edo.

Among them, Tsunayoshi Hashimoto was first summoned by the Edo Town Chief - Hashimoto was a close associate of Matsudaira Keinaga, the lord of the Fukui domain, and Keinaga was one of the core figures of Sai Zhao's clan.

After that, people continued to be arrested in Kyoto and Edo.

In October, the shogunate appointed the old central department to conquer Shangluo, and the situation escalated.

"Quan Sheng claimed that he was ill and did not go to court. He divided the officials into four quarters, supplemented Kobayashi Yoshinoori, Lai Chun and other dozens of people and sent them to Edo. Edo also arrested his party, Iizumi Kinai and other dozens of people, and all of them were imprisoned."

In the past, the people arrested were all ronin, retainers and celebrities of ministers or daimyo. But starting from October, the status of the targets of punishment became higher and higher, and began to involve ministers and daimyo, and the area was no longer limited to Kyoto and Edo, the scope gradually gradually

Expanded to the entire Fuso.

Under three trees, why not get it? Under severe punishment, prisoners began to compete with each other, and more and more people were involved:

In October, the court minister Taikou Ying Si Zhengtong and the former interior minister Sanjo Shiman were forced to shave their heads and become a monk.

In December, Prince Idō Sōrō "lived in seclusion forever," and Date Munejo, the lord of the Uwajima domain, was ordered to retire.

In February of the sixth year of Ansei (1859), the head of the Tosayama family, Toyonobu, was "retired to official positions and cautious". He saw the opportunity to retire and decisively gave up his position as the head of the family. From then on, he called himself "Rongdo" to show his openness to others.

The shogunate had no resentment.

In March, the ministers on the left, Konoe Tadayoshi, and the right minister, Takaji Fuxi, both resigned and had their hair cut. The ministers, Ichigo, Wanli Xiaolu, and others were all deposed.

At the same time, the Edo Judicial Assessment Office and the town administrative office began to focus on interrogating key criminals sent from various places.

The Ansei Prison began in September of the fifth year of Ansei (1858) and did not initially subside until August of the sixth year of Ansei——

The shogunate center issued the final verdict that month:

The five core members of Sai Zhao's family, in addition to the original Owari feudal lord Tokugawa Keikatsu, Sai Zhao's father and son, Hitotsubashi Keiki, and Matsudaira Keinaga were all punished additionally;

Ota Shihau, a senior member of the Yuping family, and Toyonobu, the head of the Tosayama family;

The rest of the people were sentenced to beheaded, beheaded, exiled, secluded, cautious, reduced in salary, and moved to the left.

This penalty plus the previous punishment, Anzheng Prison, that is, the Wu Wu Disaster involved 18 ministers, 7 old and new ministers, more than ten ministers, and more than a hundred accompanying ministers - these are all serious crimes, and misdemeanors are punishable.

Local administrative offices and daimyo handle more directly, and it is said that the number is more than ten times.

Mito was the "chief culprit", and many retainers were implicated. Mito's leader in Kyoto Yashiki, Ukai Kichizaemon, was beheaded, and his son Ukai Kokichi was convicted of having his head displayed to the public. At the same time, the family elders

An Dao was ordered to commit seppuku with a knife, one of the other retainers was beheaded, and 12 others were punished in other ways.

There were more than ten ministers among them who were most unjustly accused. They had nothing to do with the Wuwu Secret Edict. Not to mention those who publicly expressed sympathy or opposed the harsh punishment, some of them were simply labeled as being unfavorable and thus were involved. Therefore.

The ruling and opposition parties generally believe that the elder Jingyi and his family are taking this opportunity to attack dissidents.

Speaking of which, it is not the fault of others - Ii's original ally and former chief of the old school, Hota Masumu, was given an additional "cautious" punishment, and the old school, Kuze Hiroshu, was also dismissed for admonishing him. Before and after the Ansei Prison,

Only Laozhong and Damufu have lost four positions each, and five more have been replaced in the appointment and implementation department. Other important positions have also been adjusted frequently. Only Jingyi and his family have remained firm. Someone has to believe that power will not be disrupted.

Done.

Through the Wuwu Disaster, Jing Yi established his absolute prestige among the ministers.

Of course, because he was involved in a wide range of things - high officials, daimyo, ministers, and celebrities were all punished by him with harsh methods, and his name as a red ghost spread throughout Fusang.

However, due to Naohide's intrusion, some situations in Anzheng Prison were changed:

The first is Qi Bin, the head of the Satsuma Shimazu family.

In the fifth year of Anzheng (1858), he suffered from a sudden illness, but he was cured by aspirin and did not die. Since he is still alive, it is difficult for him to stay out of this turmoil. But because he was appointed by the public family,

Father-in-law, Kagoshima was very powerful, so he was favored outside the law, and he just lived in seclusion. Qi Bin's fifth son, Takujiro, took over as the head of the family and changed his name to Definition. However, Definition is only eleven years old, so the power is still in the hands of his father Qi Bin.

.

Secondly, Yoshida Nobukata was not affected - he secretly returned from England only after five years of peace, so he had no time to participate in this matter.

The biggest change comes from Gongfang Yijiading.

Like Qi Bin, he was still sick but not dead, so he could still more or less restrain the elder Ii Kazuo. This resulted in a greatly reduced number of people who were executed except for a few people with solid evidence of guilt, including Matsudaira Keinaga's retainer Hashimoto Tsunayuki.

——He was not beheaded, but was sentenced to exile.

But even though Jiading is still alive, the outcome of the Anzheng Prison has not changed much - after all, the Wuwu Secret Edict is a serious crime involving treason, and it would be better if Jiading is given a lighter sentence. Do we still need to issue sentencing to these people?

No.

Moreover, Jiading was not dead, which also gave the Jingyi family courage. No matter how noble the status of Qi Zhao and others were, under the banner of Gongfang Jiading, it was justifiable to punish them. After all, the clan and the master's family were all

Is there any difference?

In this turmoil, Hakodate followed Horinao Hide and originally stayed out of it, but he didn't expect that he couldn't hide - the shogunate actually sent the exiled people to the north. After all, some of this hot potato fell into his hands.
Chapter completed!