In July of the second year of Bunkyu (1862), Roshiten executed Shimada Masatatsu, which revealed a new trend in the small court in Kyoto, that is, the status of Shimada's head, Kanshiro Kujo Naotada, was on the verge of collapse.

Kujo was the leader of the shogunate, and the shogunate could not ignore the situation and reason, so it appointed Aizu Matsudaira Yoshiho as the new Kyoto chief minister, and immediately went to Luo to stabilize the situation in Kinki.

Although Rongbao accepted the order, on August 16, he made a request to the elder Qingyong and the general Houqingxi, hoping that the Matsudaira family of the white master and himself would send troops together.

The Matsudaira family is a popular fried chicken that has just become popular this year. It is the former White Lord's administrative office of the shogunate. It is a force created by Hori Naohide, the head of the Enhako Hall. They can fight, are rich and loyal, so no matter where they are from,

From every angle, it meets the requirements of this military service.

Logically speaking, Qingyong and Qingxi should agree to:

After all, Rong Bao was not willing at first, saying how about bringing his own dry food for a trip through the muddy waters of Kyoto. It was these two people who persuaded Rong Bao to reluctantly agree.

Now that Rong Bao wants assistance, it is unjustifiable not to agree.

Speaking of which, Rongbao was twenty-seven years old at this time, Qingxi was twenty-six years old, and Qingyong was thirty-five years old. This Rongbao was not the youngest, but compared with the other two who had experienced a lot of ups and downs, he seemed

Much more naive.

Qingxi and Qingyong are not as naive as Rongbao. They both have their own thoughts:

Qingxi knows that Kyoto is a critical place. Qi Zhao and his family have respected the king for so many years and finally lifted up the Fusang royal family. How can they be willing to give it up to others? If they share a piece of the pie to outsiders for no reason, are they not afraid of causing chaos in the future?

As for Qingyong, he regards the world as his own responsibility. He feels that the Matsudaira family of the White Lord is a barrier to the north. If the power is so dispersed, it will be a bad thing if Lucia provokes provocations in the north. If the east wall is dug to make up for the west wall, this

This is not what a person in charge of political affairs should do.

But even if they didn't want to, the situation had to be explained, so the two of them called Naohide into Edo Castle - Naohide was the patriarch of the Matsudaira family and the father of the feudal lord. This could be at least half of the family.

The shogunate's assistance in military service, interrogation with ministers, assistance in military service, hand-in-hand invitations, and special operations between Zhuzhongjian were considered the four major evils. Logically speaking, no princes would willingly participate in the conflict.

Unsurprisingly, when Naoxiu heard the news, he neither refused nor tried to evade it. He only asked Rongbao a few questions, and then said that he wanted to ask the head of the family, Maomin, to make the final decision.

This ruined Matsudaira Rongbo. This guy was the one buying the goods. Naohide's question got to the point, which meant there was something going on.

But as soon as Naoxiu returned to Lord Bai's mansion, people from all walks of life came to the door:

The first people to come were the old men and the confidants of Damufu.

These people complained that Naohide was too honest. If they refused, what else could Aizu do to Master Shiro? With everyone here, he couldn't let Master Shiro be bullied.

Naoxiu knew that most of these people didn't really care about their own families, they only cared about Master Bai's money and food.

At the beginning of August, the shogunate had announced that these families were going to cultivate the Ezo land. If Shirozu assisted the military service, wouldn't it be difficult for them to borrow money and food from Shirozu? After all, Shirozu Matsudaira's new family

Li, it’s possible that the family’s financial resources are not strong, and it would be bad if they say they have no money.

So Naoxiu prescribed the right medicine, thanked him for his concern, and said that he would do what he could and keep his word, and would never delay everyone's plan to make a fortune together in the Northland.

But as soon as these people were sent away, the next day Matsudaira Rongho's old lady Saigo Lai's mother came to the door.

Saigo came late, not because the Aizu clan didn't care, but because Naohide asked a few questions and they had to prepare. Otherwise, if Naohide was not satisfied, then the situation would be in vain.

In fact, it is difficult to answer Naohide's question. Saigo and others stayed up late to come up with the answer. One day later would be considered faster.

What did Naohide ask?

It is nothing more than what to do, how many people to send out, how long to stay, and what role the Aizu Domain needs the White Lord to play.

Don't underestimate these questions, they contain profound meanings.

"What to do", that is to say, Matsudaira Yongho is the chief minister of Kyoto. He governs the territory, guards Kyoto, and supervises the imperial court and the Kansai princes. Yongho has the title, but what does the Matsudaira family count?

If you are the one doing the hard work and taking the blame, then you should not talk about it properly.

As for "how many people to send out", that is also a test.

The Matsudaira family, the White Master, has 30,000 shi for themselves and 10,000 shi for custody. As a rule, they should send out 610 feudal soldiers, including 35 cavalry and several other types of troops.

But Kyoto, Edo, and Osaka are collectively known as the Three Capitals, with a population of hundreds of thousands if not millions. Nowadays, there are so many rogues, said to be tens of thousands. Even if there is some water, the number of people like the master plus the three thousand feudal soldiers of the Aizu clan

, if something serious happens, I’m afraid I won’t be able to suppress it.

So when Naohide asked how many people there were, he was actually asking the shogunate:

"Let me tell you what you are going to do, whether you really want to maintain calm in the market, or if you have other plans.

Lord Bai can send troops, but it is not possible for my family to rush forward recklessly.

At the very least, with today’s words, when fewer people get into trouble, don’t put the blame on my family.”

There is also "how long to stay", which seems to be for the purpose of planning food, grass, ordnance, but actually it also has a deeper meaning, whether it is reasonable or not, what is this long-term plan.

As for the final question of "What role does the Aizu Clan need the White Lord to play?", it is even more important to mention something about the Aizu Clan. If you don't understand, what is it going to do? How can our two families cooperate? It's not too late to think about it before dragging people into the fire pit.

.

It stands to reason that if any daimyo dared to bargain like this in the past, the shogunate would have been angry:

"Just go if you are told. Why are you asking so many questions?"

But today is different from the past. Qingyong and Qingxi have just taken over the power. Although everyone in the central committee seems to be harmonious, if they really say that they are like an arm and a finger, it is not a joke.

The shogunate did not have a standing army like the Fifth Division, but the one who really went to Luo was Aizu Domain.

Besides, the Matsudaira family of Shiro is nominally close to the vassal, and the current head of the family, Shigetoshi, is also the son-in-law of Shogun Iemo. What's going on? Of course, my father-in-law Iemo is seventeen years old, and his son-in-law Shigetoshi is also seventeen, and these two are of the same age.

It's a bit nonsense, but no one dares to gossip about it in public.

At that time, when Naohide asked Matsudaira Yongho about these matters, his mother-in-law Saigo Norai was also present.

After returning home, everyone in the Aizu clan thought that the head of the family, Yongho, was right. He was the one who bought the goods, and the Matsudaira family, the white master, did intend to help.

Aizu was also one of the six princes who helped to cultivate the Ezo land. He began to deal with Naohide in the sixth year of Ansei (1859). He knew that Naohide's style was not as straightforward as his subordinates, but he did not fool people with empty words.

habit.

This has always been the routine of this box shop:

Everyone works hand in hand, first discussing all aspects as much as possible, and then setting up some kind of coordination mechanism - Aizu doesn't know, this is what later generations call PDCA and project management, improving as we go.

In fact, even if Zhixiu hadn't raised the point, Rongbao would have overreacted:

On July 21st, the rogue killed Kujo's retainer Shimada Masatatsu.

On August 5, the shogunate appointed Rong Bao as the acting commissioner of Kyoto.

But Rong Baozheng was preparing to go to Luo with full of loyalty, but new news came. On July 23, Guan Bai had been replaced. Kujo Naotada went home to eat old rice, and Konoe Tadahiro returned.

Who are the guards?

From high to low, there are "four palaces, five regents, nine Qinghua, three ministers, sixty-six Yulin, twenty-eight famous families, twenty-six half families" - the official positions in the small court in Kyoto are also hereditary.

, birth is at the end.

The five families of Konoe, Kujo, Nijo, Ichi, and Takaji are the regent families. Guanbai can only choose from these five families.

It is said that colleagues are enemies, so Konoe and Kujo are enemies of each other.

So it is not surprising at all that Kujo Naotada fell and Konoe Tadahiro was promoted to Kanhaku.

And the guards are not without their feet:

In addition to being born into a noble family, his biological mother was Owari Tokugawa, who was born in the Gosan family;

There are also marriages with famous names such as Sendai Date, Shimazu, and Tsugaru;

Parents, children, and adopted children all have their own futures. There are many ministers, priests of shrines, residents of this mountain, Dharma masters, and great Zen masters;

What is particularly worth mentioning is that although Gosho Atsuhime appointed by the Grand Gosho family was the adopted daughter of Shimazu Saibin, it was his adopted daughter who came out of the imperial palace.

However, although this person had a close relationship with the shogunate, he promoted the incident of the eighty-eight ministers participating in the imperial court and opposed the signing of a peace and marriage agreement with the Mi people. By the way, the imperial envoy Ohara Shige who is currently staying in Edo

Germany, shirtless in this event is very active.

Although Konoe did not go into battle shirtless at that time, he encouraged the young minister a lot.

Later, because his stance against foreigners remained unchanged and he always opposed the shogunate, he was killed by the elder Ii in the Ansei Prison. He finally resigned and became a monk - because Naohide wandered in and got together with Saigo Takanaga.

The monk Yuezhao did not throw himself into the water, but he was not caught by the shogunate. The benefactor of this monk was Konoe.

This Konoe becomes Guan Bai, Qing Yong, Qing Xi is loved and hated at the same time:

What I love is that this man is very close to the Owari and Satsuma clans of Sai Zhao's line through marriage, and he is also the nominal father-in-law of the Grand Gosho family;

Hate, of course, time has changed, and now Keinaga and Keixi are nominally in charge of the shogunate. Although it was good for everyone to build the shogunate together in the past, but now, the official affairs have not been integrated yet. There is something different between Kyoto and Edo.

In confrontation, old friends seem to be turning into new rivals.

But what Qingyong and Qingxi were thinking, Matsudaira Yongho couldn't care less about.

He took office as the acting governor of Kyoto. The cause was that the rogues killed Kujo Tadashi's retainer in Kanbai, and the shogunate was seriously dissatisfied with the turmoil in Kyoto.

But now that Kujo has fallen, this matter is on the line:

The army has not been successfully launched, no, it has not been launched. The person to be protected is gone. What should my family do? Do we still need to go to Luo?

Of course it has to be carried out. How can we ignore this rampant devastation?

But after this change, Rong Bao was quite dissatisfied:

On the 21st day of the seventh month in the Japanese calendar, Roshi killed Kujo's retainer Shimada Masatatsu, and on the 23rd day of the seventh month, Guan Bai was replaced.

On August 5, he appointed himself as the new acting governor of Kyoto, and immediately went to Luo to stabilize the situation in Kinki.

In terms of time, there was only two days between Shimada's death and Kujo's downfall. As a result, he didn't know about Guan Bai's replacement at all, so he muddleheadedly agreed to go to Luo.

But after agreeing, the shogunate's chief minister informed him about the new appointment of Guan Bai on the next day.

Although the shogunate Daimufu said that he relayed the news as soon as he received it, Rong Bao felt that something was wrong. The same news from Kyoto arrived early and one arrived late. Why?

After thinking about it, Rong Baosi still felt that the shogunate should have received the news earlier. Qingyong and Qingxi had something to hide from their own family - to do big things together, mutual trust is the basis, but Fuso is a family and a world at this time, so it is difficult to establish the basis of mutual trust.

Therefore, Rong Bao felt a thorn in his heart, and he encountered several questions asked by Zhi Xiu, which was like a bucket of cold water in his pocket, extinguishing most of his enthusiasm.

Lao Mu and others from Xixiang were originally opposed to going to Luo, so they took this opportunity to list all the hidden dangers.
Chapter completed!