"You two must also know that since Matsudaira Sadanobu assumed the position of Laozhong in the seventh year of Tianming (1787 AD), he has initiated a series of reforms."

"For example: remove the remnant party of the former veteran Nakatanuma Yoshiji, and rebuild the Lao-China agreement system with the Yusan family as the core and the support of the Shodai daimyo."

"Another example: revitalizing samurai disciplines, encouraging warriors to practice literature and martial arts, outlawing private prostitution and geisha, banning mixed bathing and erotic literature... and so on."

——Not only do I know about these reforms of Matsudaira Sadanobu, I also chatted with Matsudaira Sadanobu more than once...

Ogata complained silently in his heart.

The current shogun: Tokugawa Ieashi is still very young, only 18 years old this year, and is still at an age where he relies on Matsudaira Sadanobu for everything.

Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to call Matsudaira Sadanobu the current de facto leader of the shogunate.

If people knew that the most wanted criminal in the shogunate, a terrorist, had chatted and laughed with the top leaders of the shogunate, many people would be shocked.

Although he complained fiercely in his heart, Ogata remained silent and continued to listen quietly to Naoshu's impassioned speech.

"Every one of Matsudaira Sadanobu's so-called reforms is just to allow the Edo shogunate to continue to rule... no, to enslave this country."

At this time, I always looked angry.

"The best example is to rebuild the Lao-China agreement system with the Gosan family as the core and the gendai daimyo as the backing! Matsudaira Sadanobu's reform to rebuild the Lao-China agreement system, to put it bluntly, wants to make people with the surnames Tokugawa and Matsudaira

, can rule this country for a long time and not let anyone or any force threaten their status."

"Matsudaira Sadanobu's reforms shattered any expectations we had for the Edo shogunate."

"So since Matsudaira Sadanobu came to power and took over the position of Laonaka, we began to plan and work towards the goal of overthrowing the Edo shogunate."

Speaking of this, Naoshu paused, probably while resting, to listen to Ogata's opinion on what he just said.

And Ogata did not disappoint him. As soon as Naoshu stopped, he immediately asked.

"...Since you want to collapse...then are you ready to collapse? With all due respect, the Edo shogunate, which directly governs a quarter of the country's land, will not collapse just by shouting a few slogans."

"Also - assuming you really overthrow the Edo shogunate, what are you going to do next? Don't tell me: you want to build another 'Osaka shogunate' in Osaka or somewhere else."

"Master Ittousai, that's a good question!" Naoshu's eyes shone, "Although the Edo shogunate is now very weak, it is indeed not a persimmon to be pinched."

"So - we have to use our strength to fight."

"Use the power of Satsuma, Choshu and other foreign daimyo who are not closely related to the Edo shogunate to destroy the Edo shogunate."

"After defeating the Edo shogunate, follow the example of Tang Dynasty and establish a new country with His Majesty the Emperor as the center!"

…

…

Naoshu talked endlessly about how they planned to win over Satsuma, Choshu and other daimyo who were at odds with the Edo shogunate, and how they would build a country completely centered on the emperor after destroying the Edo shogunate.

To put it simply - Naoshu and the others just want Japan to return to the Nara and Heian era hundreds of years ago.

In 646, Japan launched the Great Reform and comprehensively studied the advanced systems of the Sui and Tang Dynasties. It entered two historical periods - the Nara Period (710-794) and the Heian Period (794-1192).

The beginning of these two eras is the time when the capital was moved. The Nara period began when the capital was moved to Heijō-kyo (Nara), and the Heian period began when the capital was moved to Heian-kyo (now Kyoto).

These two eras were both eras in which the emperor was the head of state who truly held the power of the country.

It was not until 1192 that the power of the country was usurped by a samurai group headed by Genji, who established the first shogunate in the Kamakura area: After the Kamakura shogunate, the emperor became the empty title he is now, but without any power.

Hand mascot.

After experiencing three eras: Kamakura Shogunate, Muromachi Shogunate, and now Edo Shogunate, the Emperor has been the mascot for nearly 600 years.

The purpose of Zhizhou was to make the emperor become like the emperor of China again, the actual head of state, ruling and managing the country.

I have to say - Naozhou and the others were quite smart in taking out the banner of "honoring the emperor" to attack the Edo shogunate.

Although the Emperor's presence is now extremely low, and people in some remote areas may not know that there is a big man called the Emperor living in Kyoto, the Emperor's influence cannot be underestimated.

After all, the emperor himself has a very strong religious overtones - the royal family is considered to be the descendant of the creator god Amaterasu, and was sent by Amaterasu to manage the country.

Everyone, including the shogun, exercises the responsibility of managing the country on behalf of the emperor.

Therefore, as long as you use the banner of the emperor, claim that the other party has usurped the power that should belong to the emperor, and then call the other party an "enemy of the court," you will never lose morally no matter what.

As for what Naoshu said about relying on wooing Satsuma, Choshu and other daimyo to attack the Edo shogunate, there is some truth to it.

Satsuma and Choshu are well-known vassal states that have great strength but do not have a good relationship with the Edo shogunate.

Many foreign daimyo, led by Satsuma and Choshu, were forced to surrender due to the strong strength of the Edo shogunate when the Edo shogunate was first established.

These vassal states that were forced to surrender have always been at odds with the Edo shogunate. It is indeed a good choice to draw them together to fight against the Edo shogunate.

It's just that it's easier to invite gods than to give them away. It's easier to win them over to fight against the Edo shogunate, but it's harder to keep them from becoming ambitious after the fall of the Edo shogunate.

Maybe the Tokugawa shogunate is gone, and then a "Shimadzu shogunate" and a "Maori shogunate" appear.

Although what Naoshu said is not something that cannot withstand scrutiny, Ogata heard Naoshu say that their goal is to return to Nara and the Heian period and establish a country with the emperor as the center.

Fang no longer had the desire to continue listening.

——I criticized the Edo shogunate for a long time, but in the end, I just wanted to change from obeying a certain feudal landowner as my son to obeying another feudal landowner as my son...

After listening carefully to the speech given by Naozhou and the others, Ogata had a basic understanding of Naozhou and the others - to put it simply, they were the rebel army.

Dissatisfied with the tyranny of the Edo shogunate, he attempted to overthrow the rule of the Edo shogunate.

But... to evaluate Naoshu and the others using the phrases Ogata learned in class in his previous life... Naoshu and the others are very typical people who have not escaped the limitations of the times.

Although they tried to launch an uprising and overthrow the Edo shogunate's control of the country, they just wanted to replace the country with another family.

It's not like overturning the table at all, it's just that I want another group of people to play cards on the table.

But Ogata understands this very well.

In Japan, which still pursues a policy of seclusion, it is too difficult for people to ask Zhizhou and others to break through the limitations of the times and put forward ideas such as "breaking the feudal system."

From a certain point of view - Naoshu and the others can be regarded as one of the most open-minded people in this era. At least they will not be stupidly loyal to the Edo shogunate, and they also know how to shout "Crunt against the corrupt Edo"

"Shogunate".

Ogata has no feelings for Japan as a country, so where this country will go in the future - Ogata actually doesn't care much.

After hearing that Naoshu didn't say anything that made his eyes brighten, Ogata also lost interest in Naoshu's so-called ambition and righteousness.

Naoshu also seemed to notice Ogata's lack of interest in what he said, so he quickly changed the topic:

"And the reason why we want to ask you, Lord Ittosai, to assist us is because you are now one of the few samurai with rich combat experience in the country, and you also possess unparalleled huge energy."

"Although we want to rely on the power of Satsuma, Choshu and other foreign daimyo to overthrow the Edo shogunate, we do not want to just entrust the formation of important military forces to Satsuma, Choshu and other feudal states."

"After all, if we do this, if they have evil intentions, we will become lambs to be slaughtered."

"So we are now using the methods that each of us is good at to cultivate our own armed forces."

"I am now the owner of the Isshiki Sword Hall in Osaka."

"I am now secretly looking for people who are dissatisfied with the rule of the Edo shogunate and interested in overthrowing the shogunate, and then secretly train them."

"but……"

Zhizhou smiled bitterly.

"My level is limited and I am really unable to train them into independent warriors."

"This country has been at peace for a long time, and there are very few warriors with real skills."

"Today's samurai, including me, can only wield the 'Dojo Sword'."

"And the 'Dojo Sword' will never be of great use in a real battle."

“The period in our country’s history when it was most necessary to use swords and guns, and when warriors were most needed to display their abilities, was undoubtedly the chaotic times of the Warring States Period more than 200 years ago.”

"How did the samurai fight in that period?"

"First of all, the place where you fight is very different from a sword hall with comfortable tatami mats. You have to fight in mountains, rivers, places full of gravel, and places full of mud."

"The weapons used by the opponents are also all kinds of strange. They are not limited to using swords. In a life-and-death battle, the enemies basically use whatever weapons are easy to use. But there is no way to do it comfortably in the sword hall.

Fight with your opponent with a sword."

"How effective can the swordsmanship practiced on a comfortable tatami be in real combat?"

The bitter look on Zhi Zhou's face became more intense.

"Today's battle between Ryoma and I and the incoming pirates perfectly proves this point: the 'Dojo Sword' is only a 'Dojo Sword' after all. In a real death battle, it can play an extremely limited role."

"That's why I told you, Lord Ittousai, that I wanted to invite you to come to my sword studio and serve as my swordsmanship teacher."

"I would like to ask you, Lord Ittosai, to teach and train the people I am looking for who are determined to overthrow the curtain! You, who have experienced hundreds of battles, will definitely be able to teach you better than me, who has never fought in a few actual battles!"

"Not only that, with your joining, our morale will also be greatly increased."

"To be honest - many of us admire you very much."

At this point, Naoshu glanced at Isshiki beside him subconsciously.

And Isshiki's eyes also had a strange light flashing at this time.

"Your feat of killing the tyrant and conquering Nijo Castle in Kyoto makes us all excited."

"There should be more and more people like you challenging the decadent Edo shogunate!"

"Instead of foolishly being loyal to someone who is not worthy of allegiance at all."

"If you can come to help us, countless people who admire your name will surely gather here."

"With your participation, our plan to bring down the world will definitely be accelerated by at least 5 years."

"So - Lord Ittousai, I hereby solemnly extend an invitation to you."

Naoshu suddenly leaned down and once again moved his seat towards Ogata.

"Please join us!"
To be continued...