Chapter 896 The whereabouts of Kikuichi Monji Norizon, the 'Changzhou Expedition' begins! 【6000】
Yamata no Orochi shook his head.
"No, it's not 'blood cough'."
"I have never coughed up blood, so it cannot be a 'blood cough'."
"The doctors can't tell exactly what the disease is."
"They said I got sick from overwork."
"Forget it, just death is nothing to be afraid of."
"Because I know I am terminally ill, every extra day I live feels like I have earned something, which adds a strange sense of joy, hahaha!"
After saying that, he laughed out loud with a calm expression.
There was no fear of death in the laughter.
Looking at the magnanimous laughing Yamata no Orochi, Katsura and Takasugi had a faint look of admiration on their cheeks.
To be honest, they still couldn't believe that this big fat man, who was so fat that he couldn't breathe even if he walked a few steps quickly, could actually be the leader of the Law Enforcement Party...
In their imagination, the leader of the Fa-Zhu Party, who led countless talented people and caused trouble to the shogunate, should be a tycoon who could dominate the sea and the sky.
In fact, even today, they still don't know the specific reason why fierce men such as Otakemaru and Shuten Doji only follow him.
However, the words Yamata no Orochi said just now, as well as the performances he showed, made Katsura and Takasugi slightly change their view of him.
They had to give high praise to his optimism.
Knowing that he was terminally ill, not only was he not timid at all, but he responded with a smile - this is not something that everyone can do.
…
…
From the end of October, the shogunate and the imperial court launched a series of actions.
First, the imperial court once again designated the Maori family as enemies of the court and deprived Maori Qingqi and his son of their ranks and official positions.
At that time, Mouri Qingqin's rank was from the fourth rank to Lieutenant General Sakonoe Quan; Mori Sadahiro was from the fourth rank to Major General Sakonoe Quan. Now, all these honorary titles of theirs are gone.
The shogunate took back the taboos and names of Mori Keichika and Mori Sadahiro (Moori Keichika's son), and canceled the status of daimyo.
Therefore, the two changed their names to "Maori Jingqin" and "Maori Guangfeng".
[Note: Partial taboo: The upper-ranking person in the samurai society gave the lower-ranking person a taboo of their own name to establish a master-slave relationship. The word "Qing" for Mori Qingqin comes from the 12th generation general Tokugawa Ieyei, and Mori decided to use the word "Qing".
The word "Sada" comes from the 13th shogun Tokugawa Iedada.]
Since the establishment of the Edo shogunate, each generation of governors and crown princes of the Maori family have been given the titles of "Matsudaira Daisen Doctor" and "Matsudaira Nagatoshou" by the Tokugawa family, which is a status symbol.
Nowadays, these honors have been confiscated, and he can no longer be called Matsudaira, but can only be called Maori Taisen and Maori Nagato.
Not only that, the feudal residences of the Mori family in Edo, Kyoto, and Osaka were confiscated, and the daimyo and his retainers were prohibited from leaving the feudal territory.
There is a periodical called "Wu Jian", which is like today's current affairs news magazine, allowing ordinary people to understand political trends.
Since the Maori family was accused of being an enemy of the DPRK, all reports and news about the Maori family have been deleted.
Anyone can see that this is the shogunate building momentum for the "Changzhou Conquest"! It launches political criticism in advance to minimize and weaken Choshu.
It is not difficult to judge that Tokugawa Iemoji really planned to drive out the Mori family!
If not, it wouldn't be possible to achieve this.
Thanks to the dual efforts of the shogunate and the imperial court, Changzhou has been demoted to both the imperial enemy and the secret enemy.
Before the battle even started, the Tokugawa army took advantage of the moral advantage.
For this war, Tokugawa Iemoji really put all his energy and painstaking efforts into it.
In fact, the Changzhou conservatives’ proposal for surrender was not without purpose.
It has to be said that they were very aware of the weak character of the shogunate.
After Tokugawa Iemo announced the launch of the "Changshu Expedition", anti-war factions with considerable energy and loud voices immediately emerged within the shogunate.
These guys who strongly advocate anti-war have said: Soldiers are a major event of the country, the place of life and death, and the way of survival. We must pay attention to them!
But we can’t fight! Fighting is time-consuming and expensive!
It is really not worth the expense of labor and wages just to clean up the small Changzhou.
If you want to make Changzhou surrender, you can use other methods.
For example: pretending to attack, assuming a posture of approaching the city, and forcing Changzhou to surrender.
After the Maori family submits the transfer form, they will symbolically reduce their fiefdoms and give each other a step down, so that both sides can get along with each other, and the matter will be over.
In order to convince Tokugawa Iemo, they all hung up their book bags and quoted from classics.
From Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty's three expeditions to Goguryeo, which exhausted the country's power, to Toyotomi Taikaku's expedition to Korea, there were widespread complaints.
All in all, there is only one thing they want to express: this battle must not be fought!
If it was the foolish and incompetent former general Tokugawa Iesada, he might have let these guys fool him.
However, Tokugawa Iemo was not Tokugawa Iesada, nor was he the kind of mediocre man without any independent opinions.
Tokugawa Iemo dared not compare himself to the ancestors of the Han Dynasty and Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. He never believed that he had any extraordinary talents, but he was well versed in the principle of "beating a drowned dog".
After experiencing the tragic defeats of the "Shimonoseki War", the "Ikedaya Incident", and the "Kyoto Summer Battle", today's Choshu is in its weakest period in three hundred years.
If we don’t attack now, when will we wait?
Today, Changzhou is a flag - the flag of the Zhengxing Movement.
Tokugawa Iemo finally figured it out: Only by eliminating the unstable element of Choshu and breaking this flag can we completely suppress the absurd Zongzheng movement and bring peace to the world!
Furthermore, he really hated the appearance of these "anti-war factions".
Although they were well-mannered and looked like loyal ministers and righteous men, Tokugawa Iemo could clearly see that every one of these guys was full of benevolence, justice and morality, and they were full of male thieves and female prostitutes.
Do they really care about the shogunate and consider the future of the shogunate before they strongly oppose the war?
After being a general who conquered barbarians for so many years, Tokugawa Iemo finally understood one thing: You must never trust all the princes without authorization, let alone think that they are good people!
The reason why they opposed the attack on Changzhou was purely because it would not be beneficial to them.
Even if this battle is won, the only ones who will benefit are Tokugawa Iemo who initiated the battle, and Aoto, Matsudaira Yōho and others who personally directed the battle.
If this battle is lost, the authority of the shogunate will suffer a devastating blow, which will further affect the fame and fortune of his family.
Since this matter has no benefit to me at all, and on the contrary, I have to bear a lot of risks, then why should I get involved?
If they frankly admitted, "Yes, I am selfish and I only think about my family," then Tokugawa Iemo would feel better.
But these guys obviously only care about their own personal interests, but they insist on showing themselves as loyal ministers and good generals, which makes Tokugawa Iemoge very angry.
To put it bluntly, the longer he stayed in the position of general, the more he hated these hypocritical bastards.
I will never do the real thing, but it will be a positive thing if it is not helpful.
Faced with the strong obstruction of the "anti-war faction", Tokugawa Iemo launched an uncompromising struggle.
"I have made up my mind, and I will not return it until Changzhou is destroyed!"
He devoted himself to promoting the implementation of the "Changzhou Expedition" and even engaged in fierce verbal battles with "anti-war factions" in Daguang on several occasions.
[Note: Ohiroma: A famous room in Edo Castle. New Year's homage to the shogun, the shogun's announcement of government decrees, the publication of samurai's laws and other official activities of the shogunate are all held in this room. 】
It’s still the same saying: political power comes from the barrel of a gun.
The two most shining stars in the current shogunate government are Aoto and Katsurintaro.
One of them founded the Shogunate Navy, and the other founded the Shinsengumi. At the same time, they commanded the Hachioji and thousands of others.
These two fierce men were both Tokugawa Iemo's trusted confidants. It is not an exaggeration to call them Tokugawa Iemo's right-hand men.
In this way, under the intimidation of the two pillars of Aoto and Katsurintaro, although Tokugawa Iemoji's power cannot be said to be a powerful one, it cannot be shaken by these empty talkers.
The ministers could oppose Tokugawa Iemo, but they had to consider the consequences and costs of doing so.
No one wants to form irreconcilable differences with the number one man in the shogunate's army and the number one man in the shogunate's navy.
In this way, just like Katsura and Takasugi persuaded the conservatives, Tokugawa Iemoge also successfully suppressed the anti-war forces, unified his thinking, and barely integrated the various forces within the shogunate.
As soon as the "August 18 Coup" ended, Tokugawa Iemo put the "Choshu Expedition" on the agenda.
After more than a year of careful efforts, manpower and materials have been put in place.
All the work currently being done is just the end of this long war preparation.
Time passes...
Finally...the day of dispatching troops has arrived!
…
…
The first year of Yuanzhi (1864), November 18th——
Somewhere in the wilderness on the western outskirts of Kyoto, a certain tent——
Hoo! Hoo! Hoo! Hoo! Hoo! Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!
The sound of sharp breaking wind came and went one after another.
Qingdeng was alone in the tent, repeatedly waving the new sword in his hand.
Horizontal chops, vertical chops, diagonal chops, upward lifts, straight thrusts... Every move, every style shows the style of a master, and the sword's tendon is extremely upright.
About 3 minutes later, he slowly stopped, let out a long breath, and then looked down at the new knife in his hand.
"I finally got used to it a little bit..."
The bright mirror-like blade reflected his crushed face.
Vairocana sent it to be recast.
The ghosts and gods were lent to the chief secretary.
Although Qingdeng still has the Tang Shui family heirloom sword available in his inventory, its quality is hard to discern.
In this way, Qingdeng fell into the dilemma of having no sword to use.
As the president of the army, the general of the Shinsengumi, and the strongest swordsman in the shogunate, if he didn't even have a good sword, wouldn't it be a joke?
Regardless of these false reputations, not having a good sword at hand will indeed have a great impact on Qingdeng's strength.
As a result, Qingdeng issued a reward to collect good knives. Anyone who can provide good knives will be generously rewarded.
As soon as this reward was issued, countless people came to offer their swords.
Although there were many people coming, only a few offered good swords.
However, it is natural that his journey of "looking for a knife" is not going to go smoothly.
Those world-famous good knives and precious knives are either broken in the slashing, or they are kept in the homes of famous families and never go out.
There are only a handful of excellent swords left among the people.
Finally, after a swordsmith in Kyoto heard that General Tachibana was conquering the road, he immediately went straight to Otsu to sell his treasured sword-Bizen Nagafune!
Just like "Nagaso Ni Kotetsu" and "Izumi Mori Kanesada", Bizen Nagabune is also a brand name, commonly known as Nagabune.
Talking about the Bizen Nagabune, its name is really unknown to everyone. It can be said to be one of the most famous schools in Japan with the longest history and the most stable quality of swords.
The Bizen Nagafune sect had at least 2,000 swordsmen during the ancient sword period. The knives of this sect were of high quality and large in quantity.
Its prosperity is due to the high-quality iron ore nearby. The quality of its sand and gravel is among the best in Japan. In addition, the nearby water quality is also suitable for making knives. In addition, the rich forest resources also provide a large amount of charcoal.
In addition, the Bizen Nagafune faction is far away from the center of political power and is not affected by regime changes. Therefore, it can provide swords to the national market and lead the trend of the times, with many famous craftsmen emerging.
Swordsmith schools across Japan, no matter how famous they are or how big or small they are, have a common problem, which is the inability to maintain quality.
For example, only the second-generation Kanesada swords of Izumi Mori Kanesada are top-quality, and the swords of other generations are not very good.
The same goes for Tsuda Sukehiro. The first Tsuda Sukehiro was famous as the "Supreme Great One", but most of the swords forged by his descendants were mediocre.
It is rare to see a school like Bizen Nagafune that continues to produce good swords and has quite stable quality.
The Bizen Nagafun presented by the swordsmith is the most famous among all the swords collected this time.
Qingdeng invited the most professional knife appraiser he knew - Boss Kiryu - to help him appraise it.
Boss Kiryu carefully appreciates every detail of this Bizen longbune with the unique professional techniques of the Yamada Asaemon family.
The results of his appraisal are as follows: This sword should be the work of Bizen Nagafune Hidemitsu. The quality is acceptable. Although it is not a masterpiece of the world, it is indeed a good sword and can be classified as a "property".
Property... This rating made Qingdeng slightly disappointed.
He does not expect to obtain the "greatest property" that can be found but cannot be obtained.
However, he has expectations for "big business".
Of course, he also knew in his heart that it was a blessing to get a handful of "property".
Therefore, he readily bought the Bizen Nagabune for 500 taels of gold.
Interestingly, in the process of looking for a good sword, Qingteng accidentally heard a very interesting rumor: the living among the people, Kikuichi Monji Norizon!
Ju Yimoji no Zong - Since it is named after "Chrysanthemum", it is not difficult to see that this sword is related to the Kyoto royal family.
In fact, it is.
During the Kamakura period (1185-1333), Emperor Go-Toba commissioned the Ichimonzono swordsmith of Bizen Province, Ichimonji norimune, to forge a tachi - this sword was Kiku Ichimonji norimune.
The blade length is 78.48CM, the blade is extremely long, and the blade is thin and thin. The 16-petal chrysanthemum family emblem representing the royal family is engraved on the blade near the handle, and there is a horizontal one-character pattern engraved below it.
This sword has a history of 800 years. Because of its long history, it is an ancient sword with a national treasure level.
There are generally two opinions regarding the practicality of Kikuichi Monji no Sect.
One is that the chrysanthemum and the monastic clan are royal weapons, that is, ritual vessels, mostly for decoration and used to show majesty.
Although its too slender blade looks good, it is not suitable for combat.
Both of them mean that Juyiwenzezong not only ensures the beauty, but also ensures the practicality.
Its blade is very sharp. In terms of sharpness, it is not inferior to the Greatest Karma at all.
No matter which statement is correct, Qingden has become somewhat interested in this knife.
So, he spent some time trying to find out the whereabouts of this ancient sword.
Then, he heard this story:
About 30 years ago, the long-lost Kikuichi Mononori Mune reappeared in the world and was possessed by a powerful swordsman named Seta Sotaro.
Seta Sotaro is a martial arts fanatic who is obsessed with swordsmanship. He challenges masters everywhere and wins every battle.
While he was singing triumphantly, he suddenly met a man with extraordinary skills.
The opponent defeated Seta Sotaro effortlessly.
Seta Sotaro was convinced of his defeat and resigned himself to the defeat. He declared loudly that "the sword is worthy of the master", and then dedicated the chrysanthemum on his waist to the opponent.
In this way, Ju Yiwen Zezong fell into the hands of this worldly master.
Who is this extremely powerful outsider?
There is no conclusion yet.
In fact, even whether this story is true or false is a question.
In short, Qingden tried to find Juyi Monji no Sect, but in the end, as expected, he found nothing.
He didn't expect to get this long-lost sword anyway, so Qingden didn't feel disappointed.
After getting the Bizen Nagafune, Ayoto did basic swordsmanship exercises every day and worked hard to get used to it.
The Bizen Nagabune is good, but if you are used to Vairocana's Qingto, it will be really difficult to adapt to it for a while.
The more powerful a warrior is, the more he will pay attention to the running-in between himself and his weapon.
At Qingdeng's level, it is rare to encounter a strong person whose strength can overwhelm him or whose strength is much higher than his.
When fighting against guys whose strength is similar to yours, you mainly compete on various details.
For example, did you sleep well last night?
Another example is whether the weapon in your hand is satisfactory.
From the beginning, Qingden and Vairocana had a very high degree of compatibility.
The weight, length, blade curvature... every detail of Vairocana is incomparably consistent with Qingden.
It is no exaggeration to say that this sword seems to be tailor-made for Qingdeng! The only purpose of its birth seems to be to become Qingdeng’s sword!
Whenever he holds Vairocana, Qingden does not feel like he is holding a sword, but feels that his arms have lengthened.
The combination of man and sword is nothing more than this.
But now, holding this unfamiliar knife, he suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable.
No matter how I waved it, it just felt wrong.
To give a vivid metaphor: Whenever he waves the Bizen Nagafune, it feels like he is running with prosthetic legs and playing basketball with prosthetic hands.
Although this metaphor is a bit exaggerated, it is indeed Qingdeng's true feelings.
However, after a long period of running-in, he is finally used to this new knife.
Just when Qingdeng was about to continue sharpening the new sword, suddenly and suddenly, footsteps came from far and near outside the camp.
After a moment, Hijikata Toisho, dressed in Western-style clothes, lifted the curtain and leaned half of his body in:
"Tangerine, all the soldiers are here."
Hijikata Toshizo seems to be completely in love with that suit.
Now he always wears this set of clothes whether in public or in private.
Hearing this, Qingdeng nodded slightly:
"Okay, I'll come right away."
As he spoke, he sheathed the sword, grabbed the clothes next to him, and strode towards the tent while dressing neatly.
When we left the tent, the dazzling sunlight came straight through.
The rising sun hangs high behind the mountains to the east, and the sky is as clear as water.
Right in front of Qingdeng is a large flat wilderness.
In the wilderness, tens of thousands of generals and soldiers lined up in a dark and dense formation, looking like a forest in the sky!
The Aoi flag representing the Shogunate, the gentian leaf flag representing the Kintsu clan, the Makoto flag representing the Shinsengumi, the Aizu Aoi flag representing the Aizu clan, the Maruchi cross flag representing the Satsuma clan, and the Owari Aoi representing the Owari clan.
Pattern flag...
Flags with different colors and patterns fluttered in the morning breeze.
After Qingdeng stepped onto the high platform used for military parades and counting of generals, all the generals had arrived.
Seeing Aoden's arrival, generals such as Shannan Keisuke, Matsudaira Yongho, Saigo Kinosuke and others stepped forward to welcome him.
Just three days ago, the shogunate issued formal appointments: Tachibana Aotobu, the lord of Qinjin Domain, as the governor-general, Tokugawa Yoshikatsu, the lord of the Owari Domain, Shigeaki Matsudaira, the lord of the Fukui Domain, Yoshiho Matsudaira, the lord of the Aizu Domain, as the deputy governor, and Saigo of the Satsuma Domain
Yoshizuki is appointed as a staff officer!
Tokugawa Keikatsu—the current lord of the Owari Domain, now 40 years old.
Matsudaira Shigeaki—the current lord of the Fukui Domain, currently 28 years old.
The reason why these two men were appointed as deputy governors of the Zhengchang Campaign was purely due to political considerations.
The Owari Domain and the Fukui Domain are both very large feudal clans. The former has a stone height of 619,000 koku, and the latter has a stone height of 320,000 koku.
The main purpose of letting them serve as deputy governors was to give them names to show that the shogunate valued the feudal lords.
Both the Owari Clan and Echizen Clan sent troops to participate in this battle. It would be unjustifiable if they did not give them a resounding and important name.
Shannan Keisuke said to Qingdeng word for word:
"Mr. Orange, the troops have been assembled and ready to leave at any time!"
Qingdeng nodded lightly, then held the knife at his waist and moved to the front of the high platform, overlooking the wilderness below.
Looking up - densely packed heads filled the field of view.
The Shinsengumi, Aizu Army, Satsuma Army, as well as the troops from Owari, Fukui and other feudal clans were arranged in square formations, covering the horizon as far as Ayoto could see.
Under the sunlight, various equipment such as spears, muskets, and cannons sparkled.
Seeing Qing Deng appear, I don't know who started it, waving the spear in his hand and cheering loudly.
Then, as if a chain reaction started, more and more people discovered Qingdeng, and more and more people cheered.
The shouts were connected together, one after another, deafening, as if even the sky and the earth trembled a few times!
Seeing the spectacular sight of thousands of troops and horses, and listening to the endless cheers, Qingden took a deep breath and slightly suppressed the excitement in his heart.
Then, he waved his big hand, and the hem of the light green feather fabric was raised high.
"Set off!!"
…
…
In the first year of Yuanzhi (1864), on November 18, the shogunate officially sent out troops, with an army of 200,000 divided into three groups to conquer Changzhou.
Conquest of Changzhou and start the war!
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PS: In historical facts, the commander-in-chief of the expedition was Tokugawa Yoshikatsu, Lord of the Owari Domain, and the deputy governor-general was Matsudaira Shigeaki, the Lord of Fukui Domain. They were both nominal, and the actual command of the army was in the hands of the staff officer Saigo Kinosuke.
