The Kyoto Imperial Palace in Kyoto is synonymous with "mystery" not only to outsiders but also to locals in Kyoto.
Because the Kyoto Imperial Palace is the emperor's palace.
It is the first forbidden area in Kyoto.
The emperor has almost no real power in his hands, and his daily life can basically be described as "doing nothing".
If the shogunate in Edo followed the Shiqing Shilu system, then the imperial court in Kyoto went even further.
Almost all official positions in the imperial court were inherited from the Regent family, Qinghua family, Minister family, Habayashi family, Mingjia family, etc. The official positions that could be held or promoted were determined by family background.
This group of people who can serve as officials in the imperial court for generations are called "public families". The samurai who can serve as officials in the shogunate for generations are called "samurai families".
Although their privilege of serving as officials in the imperial court for generations seems very powerful, they are actually just a bunch of mascots.
To be precise, there is only one mascot for the entire Kyoto court. Even the emperor who is in charge of the court has no real power, so what power do these officials in the court have?
They just have loud official titles, and all they can do every day is to recite poems and compose poems and pursue elegance.
From the emperor down to the ordinary officials in the imperial court, they have nothing to do every day. Therefore, as the emperor's palace, the Kyoto Imperial Palace has always been very quiet.
However, what is rare is that the Kyoto Imperial Palace is quite lively today.
The reason is that a distinguished guest is visiting today.
…
…
Kyoto, Kyoto Imperial Palace
"Lao Naka-sama." Dainagon, who was sitting in front of Matsudaira Sadanobu, said to Matsudaira Sadanobu in extremely standard elegance, "Your gaffe this time really makes His Majesty the Emperor extremely dissatisfied."
Dainanagon: The official position of the third official in the imperial court is the emperor's personal attendant, responsible for reporting government affairs to the emperor, and also responsible for announcing the emperor's edicts to the subordinates. This official position has been held by the Habayashi family, famous families, and half families for generations.
The so-called elegant speech is a special speech tone used by the officials of the imperial court to show their status.
At this time, Matsudaira Sadanobu, wearing a black hat and the official uniform of the imperial court that he didn't know when he last wore it, knelt on the ground and said loudly in a very standard elegant voice:
"This official is entirely to blame for this gaffe, and I will bear all responsibilities."
For Matsudaira Sadanobu, a veteran of the shogunate, "being able to speak elegant language" was one of the skills that he must master.
There is a big difference between the official uniforms of the imperial court and the official uniforms of the shogunate.
The official residence of the shogunate was quite simple, while the official uniforms of the imperial court were much more ornate.
Almost a thousand years ago, when Japan launched the "Great Reform" and comprehensively studied the advanced systems and culture of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, they designed the official uniforms of their Japanese court based on the official uniforms of the Sui and Tang Dynasties.
For thousands of years, the style of official uniforms of the imperial court has not changed much, so even today, you can still see some shadows of the official uniforms of the Sui and Tang Dynasties thousands of years ago in the official uniforms of the imperial court.
"Sir Lao Zhong." Da Nayan, who had white makeup on his face, smeared lipstick, and black teeth, continued persistently, "Your Majesty, he is extremely puzzled by this defeat. Why did the 10,000-strong army
Will you lose to a mere Ogata Isushi?"
"And why hasn't this evil thief Ogata Issei been caught until now?"
In addition to speaking elegantly, court ministers also often do one thing to show their identity, and that is makeup.
The face is painted white, the lips are painted red, and the teeth are dyed black. This is the standard appearance of the officials of the imperial court.
In ancient Japan, whitening your face, painting your lips red, and dyeing your teeth black was a symbol of elegance and nobility.
"This defeat was not only due to the surprise attack by Ogata Issei." Matsudaira Sadanobu said slowly, "It was also because we underestimated the tenacity of the Ezo people in the Red Moon Fortress..."
Matsudaira Sadanobu slowly told the person in front of him the whole story of the tragic defeat a few months ago.
In front of Matsudaira Sadanobu, there was a curtain mat.
Behind the curtain seat sat a man wearing an absurdly tall black hat.
This person had a curtain covering his face, so no one could see his appearance clearly.
According to the regulations of the Japanese court, the higher the hat, the more distinguished the person.
Throughout the imperial court, there is only one person who can wear such a high black hat, the Emperor.
The person sitting opposite Matsudaira Sadanobu across a thin curtain is none other than the current Emperor of Japan: Emperor Kanehito.
In order to maintain the emperor's mystery, when the emperor summons others, he will sit behind a curtain so that outsiders cannot see his face.
At the same time, the emperor could hardly speak. When he wanted to speak to the people he was meeting, he would ask Dainanagon, who was the emperor's personal attendant, to do it for him.
While explaining the whole story of this defeat, Matsudaira Sadanobu had been quietly sizing up the emperor behind the curtain.
Although there was a curtain covering the Emperor's face, Matsudaira Sadanobu could roughly guess that the Emperor's appearance at this time was probably showing a proud smile.
Matsudaira Sadanobu smiled triumphantly because he was able to successfully disgust him.
In fact, Matsudaira Sadanobu guessed it right.
The emperor sitting behind the curtain did have a somewhat proud smile on his face.
He was looking at Matsudaira Sadanobu outside the curtain with gloating eyes.
…
…
Matsudaira Sadanobu entered the Kyoto Imperial Palace to meet with the Emperor this morning.
As a result, it was not until the afternoon that I dragged my exhausted body back to the temporary residence in the monastery.
As soon as he returned to his temporary room, Matsudaira Sadanobu saw his nickname: Tachibana walking up to him quickly, taking three steps at a time and two steps at a time.
Tachibana was not qualified to meet the emperor, and at the same time, his meeting with the emperor did not require anyone else to accompany him, so Matsudaira Sadanobu kept Tachibana in the shrine and did not let him go with him.
"Tachibana." Matsudaira Sadanobu took off the tall hat on his head, "Is there any tea?"
"Yes!" Tachibana nodded vigorously, and then quickly brought a cup of still hot tea to Matsudaira Sadanobu.
Matsudaira Sadanobu sat cross-legged on the ground in a more casual posture, holding tea and sipping it in small sips.
Tachibana, who was kneeling beside him, quietly looked at Matsudaira Sadanobu's obviously tired face, and then couldn't help but complain softly:
"Whether His Majesty the Emperor or the ministers of the imperial court, how can they understand your hard work..."
"His Majesty the Emperor must want to take revenge for the title incident two years ago!"
Regarding the words of his nickname, Matsudaira Sadanobu smiled, and then said slowly: "Just bear with their noise."
Although the emperor has no real power, he is the nominal head of state after all.
Legally speaking, the Edo shogunate only borrowed the power to manage the country from the emperor.
Logically speaking, everything in the Edo shogunate and the various vassals, including money and troops, belongs to the emperor. The emperor has the power to take back the power of the country from the Edo shogunate at any time. Of course, this is only logically speaking.
Therefore, when facing the emperor, some necessary face must be given to him.
For example, this time they suffered a huge defeat that had never happened since the establishment of the Edo shogunate. Although they did not suffer any injuries, they were completely humiliated.
He actually lost to an Ogata Issei.
The emperor personally went to the shogunate to account for this humiliating defeat.
In order to give the emperor face, Matsudaira Sadanobu had to go to Kyoto in person to explain to the emperor the whole story and reasons for this fiasco.
Matsudaira Sadanobu knew that a considerable part of the reason why the emperor personally questioned him about this matter must be to take revenge on him.
Inaugurated Emperor: Emperor Gomozono died young and had no children. The immediate royal family was extinct, so Prince Kanehito succeeded him and became the current emperor.
Two years ago, Emperor Kanehito wanted to confer the title of "Emperor Taijo" on his father, but Matsudaira Sadanobu strongly blocked it on the grounds that it was "violating ethics."
Unable to match the power of Matsudaira Sadanobu, the emperor had no choice but to give up.
This incident is now known as the "Honor Incident". Since this incident, the relationship between Matsudaira Sadanobu and the emperor has become extremely bad.
Now that we have finally encountered something that can really disgust Matsudaira Sadanobu, how can the Emperor let it go?
He couldn't do anything about Matsudaira Sadanobu, but he could still make Matsudaira Sadanobu feel disgusted.
Even though he knew that the emperor's accusation this time must have bad intentions, Matsudaira Sadanobu could only bite the bullet and rush to Kyoto.
Today's meeting with the emperor, which lasted for half a day, was nothing more than the emperor constantly blaming Matsudaira Sadanobu, while Matsudaira kept bowing his head, saying that he would take full responsibility.
When there was only half of the tea left in the cup, Matsudaira Sadanobu drank the remaining tea in one breath and then handed the empty teacup back to Tachibana.
"His Majesty the Emperor and the ministers of the imperial court do not need to pay too much attention to it."
Matsudaira Sadanobu said slowly.
"They can only open their mouths and say some noisy words."
"What they say goes in one ear and goes out the other."
"Compared to them, the really troublesome guys are all in Edo."
Having said this, Matsudaira Sadanobu's expression became serious.
"After knowing that the war in the north has failed, those who hate me must now be like cats that smell fishy smell..."
"These people who are waiting for an opportunity and are ready to pull me down at any time are a big threat and a big trouble."
"Tachibana, you go and make good arrangements tonight. When tomorrow morning, I want to see that our team is ready to return to Edo at any time."
"Are you going back to Edo tomorrow?" Tachibana asked in surprise.
Matsudaira Sadanobu nodded: "His Majesty the Emperor has already met. There is no reason to stay in Kyoto anymore. Since there is no reason to stay here anymore, let's go back as soon as possible."
"Yes." Tachibana nodded vigorously, "I understand, I will make arrangements immediately!"
Matsudaira Sadanobu, who nodded slightly, was about to wave his hand to Tachibana to leave first, when a loud announcement suddenly sounded outside the door:
"Lord Zhong! Here comes the urgent message sent to you by Osaka Castle!"
The owner of this voice is one of Matsudaira Sadanobu's personal attendants.
One of the most prestigious official positions in Osaka Castle and Kyoto.
Responsible for monitoring the shogunate's weak control over the Western country daimyo.
"Send it up."
"yes!"
The attendant opened the door, then quickly ran to Matsudaira Sadanobu holding a sealed envelope, and presented the letter with both hands.
Matsudaira Sadanobu took the letter, and after confirming that the seal was correct, he opened the envelope very handsomely with one hand and took out the letter paper.
If you think about it from the bottom of your head, you can tell that the urgent message sent by Osaka Castle to the middle-aged man is definitely not a greeting letter to greet the old middle-aged man and flatter him.
Tachibana wanted to see what was written in this letter.
However, without the permission of the middle-aged man, he, who is just a member of the family with a minor surname, naturally cannot have the qualifications to read the content of the letter.
So Tachibana could only suppress his curiosity and wait quietly.
Matsudaira Sadanobu read the letter very quickly, and he put down the letter in his hand after a while.
"...Tachibana, tomorrow's formation needs to be changed." Matsudaira Sadanobu said calmly.
"Huh?" Tachibana looked surprised.
"We won't be returning to Edo tomorrow." Matsudaira Sadanobu narrowed his eyes slightly, with a twinkle in his eyes, "Tomorrow we will change our route to the south, to Osaka."
…
…
The Kinki Plain where Kyoto and Osaka are located has been fully developed thousands of years ago, and this area can be regarded as one of the most developed areas in Japan.
Ogata originally thought that it would take them about 3 days to reach Osaka, but because the infrastructure between Kyoto and Osaka was in excellent condition, it was far beyond his imagination. There were straight roads everywhere.
So in the end, it only took 2 and a half days to reach Osaka, the destination of their trip.
Osaka, in a busy city
"Is this Osaka..." Ogata raised the bamboo hat on his head slightly and looked at everything around him.
Ogata, Amachi, and Azuki had never been to Osaka. At this time, these three people were looking at this strange city like country bumpkins who had just entered the city. Only Fuma looked calm and unfazed.
Because we were in a downtown area, I looked around on both sides of the street. There were shops and merchants hawking loudly everywhere.
Because we were in Osaka, what came to Ogata's ears was the most authentic Kansai dialect. This gave Ogata an indescribable strange feeling, as if there were many Amachis speaking...
"It is indeed the 'Kitchen of the World'..." Azuki, who was walking beside Ogata, murmured at this time, "Glass beads from Nanban, tangerines from Kumamoto, soba from Edo, crabs from Oshu... really
You can see products from all over the world in Osaka..."
As soon as he entered Osaka, Ogata keenly felt that although it was one of the "three major cities" as famous as Kyoto and Edo, the atmosphere in the air of Osaka was extremely different from the atmosphere of the other two cities.
different.
To be more precise, it should be said that the atmospheres of the three cities are all different.
The reason why the atmospheres of the three cities are different is probably related to the different labels of the three cities.
If Kyoto, as an ancient capital for thousands of years, is labeled as culture, and Edo, as the ruling center of the Tokugawa shogunate, is labeled as politics, then Osaka is probably labeled as economics.
Osaka is located in the Kinki Plain, adjacent to the sea, with extremely convenient waterway transportation, and is located right in the middle of Japan. This unique geographical location makes Osaka a "circulation base" for collecting and distributing materials from across the country.
In Osaka, you can see commodities from all over the world, especially specialties from all over the world, so it is called the "Kitchen of the World".
As a giant economic city, Osaka has also attracted and cultivated a large number of wealthy businessmen who can truly be said to be as wealthy as the rest of the country.
These giant merchants in Osaka are so terrifying that a common saying has been coined: When the merchants in Osaka are angry, all the princes in the world will be shocked.
Due to the flaws in the system, as well as the gradual collapse of the small-scale peasant economy and the emergence of capitalism, most of the vassal states today are in a financial dilemma of being unable to make ends meet.
In order to get rid of the bankruptcy of the vassal government, a large number of vassal states had to rely on borrowing money from Osaka's giant merchants to survive, including lords like Satsuma.
The total number of koku of the Satsuma Domain is 770,000 koku, making it one of the most powerful vassals in the world. However, in fact, the finances of the Satsuma Domain have always been ugly, and they have always owed an astonishing amount of debt.
It is estimated that the Satsuma Domain now owes 5 million taels of gold to external parties. Even if the entire domain does not spend a penny for a whole year, it will take hundreds of years to pay it off...
It is precisely because most of the vassal states now rely on borrowing money from the giant Osaka merchants to survive, so there is a saying that "when the Osaka merchants are angry, all the princes in the world will be shocked."
If one day none of the giant businessmen in Osaka stop borrowing money from the feudal states, then more than half of the feudal clans in the world will directly collapse financially, and the feudal lords will not be able to afford even porridge.
"How is it?" At this time, Fuuma, who was walking in front, suddenly turned back and chatted to Ogata and the others, "Osaka is a lively city, isn't it?"
Ogata nodded: "Well, it is indeed more energetic than Kyoto and Edo."
"I have seriously thought about moving to Osaka before." Fuuma chuckled, "Compared to Kyoto, I actually prefer Osaka, which is more lively. But in the end, my moving plan was due to various reasons.
It’s over.”
"I'm just the opposite." Ogata smiled, "I prefer Kyoto to Osaka."
"Oh? Why?" Feng Mo cast a curious look at Ogata.
"There is no special reason. How should I explain it to you... To put it simply, I prefer the more soothing and slower-paced atmosphere of Kyoto."
Having said this, Ogata changed into a half-joking tone:
"If one day in the future I have to find a place to settle, I will probably choose Kyoto as my place of residence."
"Hahaha. Are you settling in Kyoto..." Feng Mo chuckled again, "The prices in Kyoto are very expensive."
…
…
While talking and laughing, they finally arrived in front of an ordinary-looking carpenter's shop.
This carpenter's shop is the carpenter's shop opened by Fuma's old subordinate Senbei.
Fuma was planning to accept the invitation of his old subordinate and go to Osaka to see his old subordinate. At the same time, he also helped Ogata find the swordsmith who was said to be very powerful: Yuji.
So after arriving in Osaka, they planned to meet Senbei first, and then slowly find Yuji.
Senbei had excellent carpentry skills. Before Fuma no Sato was disbanded, Fuma and the others relied on umbrellas and wooden crafts made by Senbei to subsidize the expenses of Fuma no Sato.
After Fuma disbanded Fuma no Sato, Senbei moved his family to Osaka and opened a small carpentry shop in Osaka until today.
Ogata, Omachi: "Mr. Senbei, I haven't seen you for a long time."
Ogata and Omachi, who had met Senbei in Kyoto last summer, saluted and said hello to Senbei after seeing him for a long time.
When Senbei saw that Ogata came here with Fuma, he looked surprised at first, then quickly reacted and entertained them very warmly.
Ogata and Atachi had only met Senbei once, who had returned to Kyoto to visit Fuma last summer. They were not very familiar with him, and Asuki didn't even know him.
So in order to avoid embarrassment, and to leave enough space for Fuma and his old subordinate to reminisce, Ogata, Atachi, and Tsukuba left Senbei after briefly saying hello to him.
carpenter shop, wandering on the streets outside to kill time.
After a while, they passed by a tea house that constantly wafted out with the wonderful aroma of tea.
The three people were so salivated by the aroma of tea that they got into the tea house, randomly found a seat, ordered three cups of tea and several plates of snacks, and while looking at the streets with people coming and going outside the tea house, there was a
Chatting for a while.
"I always feel that the people in Osaka are so enthusiastic and cheerful," said Azuki, holding hot tea in both hands and sipping it, "It's very different from the people in Kyoto."
"Maybe this is the character of Osaka people." Ogata picked up a glutinous rice dumpling and stuffed it into his mouth.
"There are quite a lot of differences between the Kansai dialect spoken by Osaka people and my Kansai dialect." Because his mouth was stuffed with a lot of glutinous rice dumplings, Omachi's words were a little slurred.
The three of them were all very interested in this city they were visiting for the first time. They quickly drank the tea in their respective cups and cleared away all the snacks they bought, and prepared to continue to see various places in Osaka.
But the three of them had just left the door of the tea house
"Ooohhhhhhhhhhhh!"
The three of them heard the sound of crying coming from the door of the tea house.
The three of them were startled by the cry and hurriedly followed the sound to see that the owner of the cry was a girl who was only about 12 years old.
She hugged a big package, crouched beside the door of the tea house, buried her face in the big package in her arms, and cried loudly.
The girl's cry not only shocked Ogata and the three of them, but also the passers-by around them. However, almost all of them looked away after glancing at the little girl and continued to do their own things.
There are three of them.
"Little girl, what's wrong with you?" Ating walked over quickly, leaned down and patted the little girl's back.
Suddenly, a stranger came forward, and the little girl was so shocked that she even stopped crying for a short time.
Perhaps it was because A-Machi was pretty and seemed particularly friendly. With A-Machi's kind words and persuasion, the little girl gradually revealed the reason for her crying.
It turns out that this girl is an apprentice in a certain grocery store.
She got a task from her boss today: to sell the batch of tooth powder in the store that has been unsold for a long time.
The so-called tooth powder can be understood as the toothpaste of this era. Using tooth powder to clean your teeth can not only clean your teeth, but also freshen your breath. However, in this era, the importance of tooth brushing and dental health has not yet become popular, so there is no
So many people like to brush their teeth, so tooth powder is not an easy-to-sell product.
The little girl held the dozens of packets of tooth powder given to her by the boss and started selling them along the street since early morning. As a result, it was already afternoon, but she had only sold 3 packets.
The delay in selling the tooth powder made the little girl very anxious. If she failed to complete the task, she would be scolded by the boss.
She was extremely anxious, her psychological defenses collapsed, and she couldn't help crying.
"...I can understand this feeling." After knowing the whole story, Azhu cast a sympathetic look at the little girl, "When I used to practice under the guidance of my grandfather, I often failed to complete the instructions given by my grandfather.
I was so anxious about the task that I cried."
Atachi, who was still patting the little girl's back, had a hint of sympathy in her eyes. As a "former kunoichi", she also understood the anxiety of not being able to complete a task.
Ogata doesn't have obvious mood swings like Atachi and Tsukuba, and he always looks expressionless.
However, after the little girl finished explaining why she cried loudly, Ogata said something to the little girl that made both Atachi and Ashuku couldn't help but look surprised: "Stop crying. I'm here to help."
Can you sell these tooth powders so that you can deal with your boss? Anyway, I am very free now."
A-Machi, A-Zhu, little girl: "Huh?"*3
The three of them said "Huh?" at the same time with great tacit understanding.
"Mashima-sama." Azuki's eyes shone, "Can you still sell things?"
Lord Ittosai is indeed a superman!
From time to time, Ogata was able to let Azuki see his other powerful side besides swordsmanship, which gradually made Ogata's image in Azuki's mind become strange.
"No." Ogata replied honestly, "I have never sold anything. The only business-related skill I know is an abacus."
The skill point of abacus was given to him by "Hara Ogata". When he was the treasurer of Hirose Domain, he spent more time with abacus than with sword.
"You don't have to shout loudly along the street to sell things." After adding this sentence, Ogata smiled and raised his hand to touch the handle of the Daeshten knife at his waist, "Someone once taught me how to sell things.
The secret.”
"If everything goes well, it will only take me 2 or 3 sticks of incense to sell all the tooth powder."
…
…
"Miss Isshiki. Thank you for accompanying me to buy a knife." A very handsome young man with a very neat Tsukiyo haircut showed a graceful smile while looking at the man walking beside him.
The beautiful woman in a goose-yellow kimono bowed and thanked her.
"You're welcome." Isshikihua said coldly, "The medicines you gave to my grandma before were very effective, so I'm just returning a favor to you."
"Miss Yishi, I recently purchased a batch of good tea from Tangtu West Lake. Let's try it together someday."
"Yeah, okay." Isshikihua answered without hesitation, and then added, "When I have time."
While they were talking, the two of them came to an intersection.
"You can just send it here." Isshikika said in a very polite tone, "Kitahara-kun, see you later."
"Miss Isshiki, let me take you to the door of your sword hall." The handsome young man known as Kitahara said quickly, "The security in Osaka has been very bad recently, and there are a lot of petty thieves of all kinds."
"No need." Isshikika responded again without thinking, "There is no need to continue seeing each other off."
Seeing that Isshikika's attitude was so resolute, Kitahara was too embarrassed to say anything more.
Just when Kitahara was about to follow Isshikika's wishes and leave here, Kitahara suddenly caught a glimpse of many people around him running quickly towards a nearby intersection, and heard these people saying in an excited tone:
"It seems like there's going to be some great show over there."
"What show?"
"I don't know. Let's go and see."
…
Listening to the conversations of the people around him, Beihara's eyes lit up.
"Miss Isshiki." Kitahara said hurriedly to Isshiki, "There seems to be some interesting performance being held over there. Before going home, let's go and see it together?"
*******
*******
Please give me a monthly ticket! Please give me a monthly ticket! I am crying while asking for a monthly ticket! (Leopard Head is crying.jpg)
The foreign debt of 5 million taels owed by the Satsuma clan mentioned in this chapter is not made by the author. It is real history. For details, please see the "Writer's Words" below.