On October 25th of the third year of Bunkyu (1863), Naohide personally visited his friend Oguri Tadjun. It was nominally about the Three Kingdoms bombardment of Shimonoseki, but in fact it was because the reform of the shogunate had reached an important juncture, so Naohide had no choice but to come.

I don’t dare not come, it’s just sooner or later:

Last year, the second year of Wenjiu, the price boom caused by the opening of the port made Fusang's resistance to foreigners extremely fierce. The forces of the Qi Zhao family made a comeback, not only controlling the power of the shogunate, but also launched the Wenjiu update.

Later in the third year of Wenjiu, the combination of public and military forces was officially launched. The general Iemo went to Luo on February 13th and arrived in Kyoto on March 4th to discuss major plans with the court and princes.

On April 23rd of the third year of Bunkyu (1863), Shogun Iemo announced in Kyoto that the All-Fuso War would begin on May 10th, and he would negotiate with Western countries to gradually cancel foreign trade.

On May 10, Changshu fired the first shot against the barbarians - the Mi merchant ship "Pembroke" was bombarded by Changshu when passing through the Shimonoseki Strait.

After that, Changzhou was prestigious for a while, and "battled with Mi, Lan, and Buddha ships five times, each with a victory or defeat."

But the end came soon. At the end of June, ten warships from Britain, Buddhism and America bombarded Xiaguan, and the Maori family in Changzhou was defeated.

In mid-July, the Western powers took the Three Kingdoms bombardment of Xiaguan as their theme and demanded that the shogunate either pay compensation or increase efforts to open ports.

Regarding this, Naohide said, I am also very helpless, the plan did not change quickly - originally the Battle of Saiying was supposed to take place at the end of June, while the Shikoku bombardment of Shimonoseki will happen next year.

And what surprised him even more was that although the result of the general's march to Luo was still not good, the general later saw Qingxi and actually led his people to rebel, and then all parties worked together to crowd out the shogunate. But compared with Naohide's original world, among them

However, three major changes occurred:

The first change occurred in the shogunate political president Keinaga and general Houmi Keiki.

Yes, there was great inertia. After all, Keinaga resigned the "elder brother" and became the newly created "political president". Moreover, the head of the Aizu Matsudaira family, Yoshiho, also became the newly created "Guardian of Kyoto".

As for the change, this time Keinaga was not forced to resign by Qingxi, nor did he go back to his hometown of Echizen Fukui to carry out the "Plan to Raise the Domain" - this plan was to suppress the radical anti-barbarian faction in one fell swoop, and then continue to promote the integration of public and military forces.

In order to steadily resist the foreigners.

Because Keinaga did not take drastic action, Keinaga had no excuse to run back to Edo in the following May. Keinaga originally resigned in March, and while Shogun Iemo remained in Kyoto, Qingxi ran back to Edo in May.

Hu, using his monopoly of power, vigorously purged opponents.

The second big change that happened after that was the different way Shogun Iemo escaped.

In Naohide's original world, the general Iemoge, who was full of hopes for the union of public and military forces, was not only stabbed in the back by Qingxi after he went to Luo, but was also besieged by public ministers and princes. As a result, he had no choice but to agree to immediately fight off the barbarians.

However, the shogunate left an opening for itself and the princes. Negotiations could begin immediately by locking the port in Yokohama. However, one must be cautious in using force. "If they come to attack, they must be swept away. If we advance, we must not start a war."

As for the change, it happened after the ban on foreigners was announced.

At that time, the small imperial court and the barbarian feudal lords, especially the Qingxi clan, were still entangled in every possible way to prevent General Iemomo from returning to Edo. In the end, Iemomo was delayed until June 13th.

But this time with Keinaga around, there was no need for the shogunate to send troops from Edo to rescue him.

Didn't Iemo bring 3,000 troops with him when he went to Luo? The Matsudaira family, the white master who went to Luo with Aizu, also had a thousand tigers and wolves. When the general and the political president were determined to leave, 4,000 people joined forces, and no one dared to do so.

Stop.

The reason why they dare not take action is that the Northern soldiers have been showing off their power in Kyoto for a long time, and no one dares to confront them head-on.

According to Saimasa, the head of the Nabeshima family in Saga, who always has his eyes high above his head:

"One Saga soldier can defeat three ordinary feudal soldiers, while a thousand soldiers from the North can defeat ten thousand!"

Of course, the ministers and princes did not agree with this statement, thinking that the disparity was not that big.

But if we really want to take action, whether we can fight or not, these families are indeed murmuring:

Well, whether you can fight or not depends on your body shape.

It turns out that there was a custom of vegetarianism in the Edo period, that is, everyone generally followed a vegetarian diet. Of course, not all meat was not eaten, such as fish, duck and game like venison, etc. could still be eaten.

There are three reasons for this: the shogunate's "Pity for Living Order", the spread of Buddhism and the economic conditions at the time - people were so poor that they couldn't afford to eat meat even if they wanted to.

Let’s not talk about genes and eating habits. Malnutrition alone can lead to death.

Data from later generations shows that the average height of men during the Edo Shogunate period was 1.58 meters for men and 1.38 meters for women - this 1.38 meter is really unimaginable.

Moreover, it is easy to say that you are short, but it is even more difficult to be thin.

According to photos taken at that time, civilians and samurai generally had sunken cheeks, livid complexions, and skeletal bones (skinny and lonesome).

At that time, in addition to appearance, clothing and whether or not to carry a knife, identity was determined by skin color and body shape, especially body posture - after all, a white face can be powdered or hungry, but if you are rich, how can you have such a posture if you are not rich?

Of course, the ministers, samurai, wealthy merchants and wealthy farmers were better off, but they were not much better. After all, it was the end of the Tokugawa period, and there were natural and man-made disasters. Isn't it because everyone couldn't live anymore?

But this is not the case for the Northern Soldiers. Although they cannot be said to be tall and tall, they can still be called short and tall.

The first reason is that you can eat enough, and the second reason is that although you can’t afford beef and mutton, you can eat chicken eggs, seal meat, whale meat and various fishery products.

On this point, the overall physical fitness of the Beidi soldiers is the best in Fuso!

Not to mention anything else, just on this point, not only the soldiers of each domain were ashamed, but also the girls loved to marry the northern soldiers - at the end of September in the second year of Bunkyu (1862), Lord Shiro entered Kyoto in Aizu, and in the third year of Bunkyu

I left Osaka on June 13th. In less than a year, all the soldiers from the North were single!

Speaking of which, immigrants have been immigrating to Ezo and Northern Ezo, so the male-to-female ratio has always been a problem. When young men and women want to get married, many of them can only make arrangements from outside.

This time in Luo, most of the ashigaru arranged by Master Bai were singles, but I didn’t expect that things would be so easy:

There is no need to go to any trouble at all to find Zhongren or Yapo. You just need to make a noise, and soon your father and brothers will come to inquire.

When the parties involved met, accepted, made a connection, and then sent them to Master Bai's ship, the matter was done. There were even families who immigrated to the North with their daughters.

As for the second reason why it cannot be defeated, of course it is because its armaments are far inferior.

The snuff bottle guns of the northern soldiers are of course the first-class Fuso, but the steel helmets, short leather boots, and Western military uniforms are the main reasons why the soldiers of various vassals are discouraged - look at the bamboo hats on their heads and the straw sandals under their feet.

Isn't this a comparison between begging for food and clothing? Half of it is lost before you take action.

In the end, the reason why I didn't dare to take action was because of people's disapproval.

Although the general was clever in his celebration, the princes he had won over were numerous and powerful, and the local tiger ministers also added fuel to the flames, the people of Kinki, especially Kyoto, wanted to fight for the north.

One reason for this is that the princes are outsiders, and the other reason is that people's hearts are made of flesh - no matter how slandered the ministers, monks, and priests are, everyone has eyes, and what they see and what they hear are different.

Of course seeing is believing.

Since Aijin and the Bai family went to Luo, military discipline has been strict, and there is no crime in the Qiu Dynasty.

Originally, there were rogues in Kyoto. These wild warriors were mixed, good and bad. It was common for them to eat without being paid. Even in order to find wandering girls, robbers and robbers often happened. As for bullying men and dominating women, it goes without saying.

Therefore, Aizu and Shirozhu stabilized the market, and most of the town residents were grateful for this.

And not only that, the two companies also eliminated a group of moths in the town that used to be a common people, which is very satisfying.

Even later, due to the increasing number of princes in Shangluo and the chaos in Kyoto, the two families simply established the Huofu Banditry Party.

While strengthening the armaments of both parties, the town residents' self-defense organization "Gumi Tsujiban" was also thoroughly reorganized:

Not only were the five-man group of civilians asked to re-recommend Ryoikeko as the leader, but they were also personally taught by the Shirozu feudal soldiers. As long as they passed the inspection, they would be issued with smoothbore iron cannons and attached to the Kyoto Guard Station with the ashigaru status - of course, the wages were still borne by the town.

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Although Tsujiban was originally a self-defense organization, it was muddy and unclear. Now it has been reorganized and has a formal name. This is very helpful in maintaining local stability and winning people's hearts.

In addition to the above achievements in maintaining stability, other measures taken by Aizu and Shiro are also popular among the people.

Due to the increase in raw silk prices since the opening of the port, Nishijin weaving in Kyoto has declined day by day, and many merchants have closed down. The weavers who lost their work opportunities launched two large-scale riots in the year of the opening of the port (1859).

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In Aizu, after Lord Bai went to Luo, he found wealthy merchants to support the original merchants, subsidizing money and food, and replacing machinery.

Initially, everyone still had doubts, but Four Seasons House and others promised to underwrite the sales, that is, they would purchase all the products according to the price as long as they were produced and qualified.

When the news spread, tens of thousands of weavers rushed to tell the news, and the atmosphere among the people of Kyoto was lifted.

And in addition to weavers, Aizu and Shirozu also racked their brains to improve people's livelihood:

The original folk spinning and weaving was mostly abolished due to the impact of cheap foreign gauze and foreign cloth. However, the wealthy merchants hired by the Kyoto Guardian Office vigorously promoted hand-made, embroidered, and knitted thread blankets and blankets. As long as they met the sample standards, they would all be sold.

Although the quantity is small and the styles are strange, you don't have to provide all the materials yourself, so the townspeople have nothing to worry about--it's not idle to be idle.

As for other industries, some are also supported.

It’s just that in Kyoto, like Edo, many townspeople rely on serving the outside population. However, in Edo, they rely on the samurai masters who come to visit temples and shrines. In Kyoto, they rely on civilians who come to visit temples and shrines. But now Fuso

In times of turmoil, it would be good for the common people to live well, and if they had enough money, they could go to Edo to pay homage.

Therefore, the city of Kyoto is still very depressed.

However, the people of Aizu and the Shirozu family take note of these efforts, so they are very grateful.

In particular, the soldiers of the Shirozu clan stationed in Mibu Village not only sold cheap dried fish and grains, but also taught people about agriculture and handicrafts. They also often provided free clinics at low prices or even for free, and even introduced the way to immigrate to the north. Therefore, the public opinion was still good. It was simply

Compliments.

Therefore, when Keinaga decided to escort the general Iemoge to Osaka, he took Shiro as the vanguard. Because of his good reputation and strong strength, the princes were unwilling to stop him. Especially the Aizu clan, when the general saw Keixi, he persuaded Yong Bao to do something important.

When it became serious, Rong Bao and his men all refused, saying, "If you recruit a righteous teacher lightly, his name is not legitimate."

In this way, the political president Qingyong did not resign, so Qingxi had no chance to monopolize the shogunate, and the general Iemo escaped easily. After these two things, the third big change happened smoothly:

At the end of June, the Three Kingdoms bombarded Xiaguan and Changzhou was defeated. Less than two months after the announcement, the enemy encountered a major setback.

Keixi, who was still in Kyoto at this time, still supported the fight against the foreigners; but Iemo, who returned to Edo in mid-July, with the support of Keinaga and other ministers, resolutely made the opposite decision and announced the suspension of the Yokohama port lockup.

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This change enabled the shogunate to move toward the separation of east and west in advance:

Qingxi, who had inherited Qi Zhao's reputation for fighting against foreigners, finally showed his true colors after losing the support of the shogunate. On August 18, Qingxi united with 27 princes including Jin to bring together seven ministers and the Changshu domain.

Soldiers and rogues, totaling more than a thousand people, drove out of Kyoto.

From then on, Qingxi gave up the banner of using force to fight the barbarians, cooperated closely with the small court in Kyoto and the princes who supported him, and began to face an implicit confrontation with Edo.

As for the shogunate, although it did not formally abandon the combination of public and military affairs, it united the princes and embarked on the path of self-rescue through Bunkyu innovation.

One of the important figures, Oguri Tadjun, who returned from his mission to Europe, started from the end of the second year of Bunkyu and after ten months of preparation, he also thoroughly disseminated the "Fuso Planting and Industrial Development Proposal".
Chapter completed!