Egawa Youngmin originally asked Naohide to ask for the guilt - he felt that the white lord was not normal now and had a tendency to be private, but he was fooled by Naoxiu, and then he began to reflect on what his father Mr. Tanan had done since the beginning of this year, and found that in fact, it was good for the Egawa family to take a step back, and it was not all without benefit.

Since December last year (and calendar), I was forbidden by my father to come, because I couldn't get in touch with the outside world, so I only saw the disadvantages, but the second time the rice man black boat came, it showed my father's foresight:

On the 16th day of the first lunar month, Perry took seven black ships to enter Edo Bay again, and after the news reached Edo, the shogunate called the ministers to discuss it, saying that the sick father had also gone - Mr. Tanan was the official who resigned on the 24th day of the wax month, and the shogunate had no intention of working during the New Year, so he did not resign until the black ship returned.

As a coastal defense hanging, Egawa Taro Saemon insisted on "Miyi is not credible" when the black ship left for the first time last year, and strongly advocated strengthening vigilance during the New Year, which provoked many people to scold at the time, but Perry really came in the first month, and at this time everyone could only pinch their noses and praise Egawa for his foresight.

And Jiang Chuan has already resigned from the table, although he has not yet approved it, but he has already said that he is sick, but as soon as the black ship came, Jiang Chuan did not say a word to participate in the big assessment, how to say that he could be called loyal - the seven black ships are menacing, how can it seem that this time it is not good, so everyone is unwilling to participate in this matter from the bottom of their hearts, just because they have to come because of their duties.

The people present asked themselves, "If I am Jiang Chuan, then I will definitely not come." "So, even people who are not usually very close to Jiang Chuan are very kind to Jiang Chuan at this time - wouldn't it be good to have one more person who carries the black pot.

This time the topic is how to deal with the rice people:

According to the report of the Uraga Commission, the rice people said, "Thousands of miles to travel, long time, not to endure." Gou was recalled, that is, he hung the sail and went to the ear. If you still can't die, please go straight to Edo to decide. Otherwise, the Shinagawa River will be punished", which means that if you ignore the people, the black ship will enter Edo.

If it is really hit by the black ship, there is no need to fight, as long as the boat sails to the sea outside the river, it will definitely be an insult to the curtain body, and the important ministers present will not escape the discussion - because of the ventilation report of the Xianheng foreign company, the shogunate has some understanding of the weapon performance of the black ship, plus Shinagawa Odaiba has long been repaired, the rifled cannon has also been installed, and the various groups are also on full alert, so the shogunate still has some confidence, so it is not too panicked.

In order to prevent the black ship from continuing north to the Edo coast, the top priority was to send someone to negotiate with the Mi people as soon as possible - if no one negotiated that the black ship would "go straight to Edo to decide", then someone would not come if they could not talk.

This time, even Tokugawa Saiaki, the old lord of the Mito domain, who had always advocated that he could not talk, did not say anything against it—it was not that Qi Zhao agreed to negotiate with Mi, but from the series of incidents of the black ship's visit last year, Qi Zhao's prestige was greatly hit, so no matter how much he pulled his neck and yelled, not many people were willing to listen.

Of course, after a series of incidents, Qi Zhao's own attitude has also changed.

Last year, Qi Zhao took the lead in renovating Odaiba on both sides of the Uraga waterway, but when the black ship visited on June 3, none of the new Odaiba was completed and ready for use.

And at that time, eight of the nine coastal defense hangers, all rose to the challenge and came to Uraga to deal with the rice people, so Qi Zhao didn't go, and only sent his subordinate Fujita Toranosuke to act on his behalf - if he didn't go, he didn't go, after all, the Great Imperial Palace was unwell at that time, and Qi Zhao, as the elder of the three royal families, stayed in Edo.

But although Toranosuke Fujita is famous, he performed mediocre throughout the whole of the first return visit of the black boat, and he didn't contribute at all except for singing the opposite, so he carried a lot of black cauldron after the black boat left - in the original world of Naohide, the big black cauldron after the black boat left was buckled on the head of the Uraga commissioner Toda Clan Ei, and Toda was secretly demoted by Mingsheng to Nishimaru to stay behind.

But after Zhixiu entered the chaos, last year, he was responsible for communicating with the Miren Admiral Perry, and there were eight coastal defense hangings, one of these eight coastal defense hangings, two surveying commissions, four imperial eyes paying and one surveying Yinwei service, the forces behind them are intertwined, who dares to let these people carry the black pot!

But after all, he was bullied by the rice people, and the face of the shogunate was damaged, so it was not okay to express it, so Fujita Toranosuke won the bid - although he was a private minister of Mito rather than an official shogunate, so Fujita went home again "cautiously".

Fujita is one of the two fields in Mito - the other field is Toda Tadashi, both fields are important advisers of Tokugawa Saiaki, as the saying goes, it depends on the owner to beat the dog, Fujita was "cautious" Qi Zhao's face was naturally dull.

But this is not the end, in addition to the failure of Uraga Suido Odaiba and the punishment of Fujita Toranosuke, Qi Zhaoyi also suffered a big loss last year.

After the first black ship came to Koko on the 12th day of the 6th month of the Japanese calendar, the shogunate was greatly shaken, and on the 1st of July, the chief elder Naka Abe ordered to distribute the translation of the Kokushu to the daimyo and important shogunates of each domain for advice.

In fact, the old people sent a secret letter, that is, to act secretly, and not all the daimyo and shogunate were asked, but I don't know who leaked the news, by the middle of August, even the market in Edo also knew that the black ship would enter the Kou the next year, and the more it spread, the more exaggerated, at this time someone has already said that "the next year the Southern Barbarians 100 ships, 1,000 generals, with tens of thousands of armor into Kou Edo", to this point, and then secrecy is undoubtedly fueling the rumors, so the old people simply announced to all the daimyo and important ministers the inside story of the visit of the rice boat, And ask for advice.

By September and October, most of the books were handed in, and there were also many other people's books of the book—these people were not consulted, but they heard that the shogunate was soliciting a plan for "sobbing for a plan", so they all went to the princes or shogunates' offices to submit letters, and some of them were really good, so they were also recommended to the shogunate.

These Jianbai books can be summarized into four opinions:

The first type is the "theory of harmfulness and uselessness" under the banner of Tokugawa Saiaki.

These people believed that there were five evils in trading with the southern barbarian countries: "What is imported from other countries is useless, and what is exported from Fuso is useful." What is useful is easy to use what is useless. is the first evil; Increasing exports will lead to a shortage of Fuso products, which is the second evil. Lack of property will lead to an increase in prices. is the third evil; The actual profiteers are a very small number of businessmen. Most people are the real ones who actually suffer, the fourth evil; Even if the export of goods is exchanged for gold and silver, it is still difficult to make up for the lost part, resulting in people not making ends meet. is the fifth evil. ”

Since trade is harmful, there is naturally no need to open a country - what do barbarians want to open a country for? After all, it's not watching my Fuso wealth?

How did the Mi people reply to their request for the opening of the country? At that time, it was a stern refusal, and even a war was not hesitated.

The second type of opinion is the "hypothetical theory".

The largest number of people held this view, and most of the princes and shoguns were from this lineage.

In fact, the core meaning of this point of view is still to be dragged on, thinking that "soldiers, murder weapons, saints have to use it as a last resort", if you can fool the rice people away, if not, then drag it out for a few years, anyway, it is easy to find excuses such as looking for chapters and sentences, digging the roots, etc., maybe the rice people are impulsive, and the matter of dragging on for a year and a half will be over.

Of course, if the rice people are arrogant, then it is okay to give in for the time being, step by step, and it can always be delayed for three years and five years.

There are also a very small number of people who suggest "opening up the country for trade", and these people believe that it is not impossible to communicate with each other, but it is necessary to control the location and scale, and to try it for a year or two before making further plans.

These people were a number of Ran scholars and a small number of shoguns, among whom the Uraga Minister, Toda Clanei, was prominently listed.

However, the "theory of harmfulness and uselessness," the "theory of hypocrisy," and the "theory of limited trade and commerce" all agree with the same thing, that is, to rectify the armed forces.

In response to this trend, the shogunate lifted the ban on the construction of large ships on the 15th day of the ninth month of the Japanese calendar, allowing each feudal clan to build large ships after reporting to the shogunate. At the same time, the shogunate also allowed the princes to build Odaiba and cast large cylinders and new iron cannons after the report.

In fact, in the 5th year of Kaei (1852 in the Western calendar), the shogunate's "trial decree" relaxed this requirement, but this repetition of the old matter undoubtedly shows the shogunate's greater determination to rectify its armament.

In addition, in a large number of Kenhaku, it was either directly or implicitly stated that the shogunate was asked to reform the shogunate, and this was also included in the "trial decree" of the fifth year of Kaei, so the shogunate only reiterated the "trial decree" to the localities.

However, the shogunate also had a new measure, that is, to ask the Lankoku Merchant House to "remove miscellaneous goods and import ordnance instead", which can be regarded as officially opening the preparation mode.

Of course, there are also some bizarre proposals in the Jianbai book, such as some people who revealed that they bravely asked for Mi Yi to be reprimanded, and some suggested that the biennial confession be changed to once every three years, all of which were ignored.

Kusano has a legacy, and several people have entered the field of vision of the shogunate's important ministers:

Yokohama Iron Works Leader Katsu Yoshikuni and Uraga Sho and Rikinakajima Saburosuke both believed that Miyi's strength lay in strong ships and guns, so the shogunate's focus on reorganizing armaments was to build large ships, and both of them were very familiar with Western ships and proposed many feasible methods, unlike other proposals for building large ships.

And Heishiro Yokoi and Sakuma Repair put forward a point of view that made the eyes of the old middle school shine:

Heishiro Yokoi of the Hosokawa family of Higo put forward the theory of "Shido", "Rich Country", and "Strong Soldiers" in the "Three Treatises on the Country", while Sakuma Repair of the Matsushiro Sanada family put forward the theory of "Japanese soul and foreign talent".

The biggest obstacle to the opening of the shogunate was "Yes

violates the family law of the ancestors", but in the Kenhaku book of Yokoi and Sakuma, it is also proposed that the Tokugawa shogunate also opened the country for trade in the early days, but later the situation changed and the country was closed, so can we also open the country for trade and then lock the country - what our ancestors did, we can't do it?

Even Qi Zhao, who shouted every day, didn't dare to say that the shogunate was wrong from the beginning of the founding of trade, and Yokoi Heishiro and Sakuma were both famous people in the world.

But what does this Jianbai book have to do with Qi Zhao's family suffering a big loss?

Again, almost all Jianbai books recommend "rectifying armaments".

Qi Zhao and his family shouted every day, and the people were not shouting blindly, and the princes led by the Mito Domain were all well armed, and Mito even "dedicated seventy-four gates to Edo" in the ninth month of the Japanese calendar - the so-called giant fire is the big barrel that Fuso said, that is, the bronze cannon.

But it was good to die, and then in order to boost people's hearts, the old and middle schools organized a drill in late September.

In the 5th year of Kaei (1852), one of the shogunate's "trial decrees" was the establishment of a "martial arts training field" - in fact, it was a Western martial arts school, located in the Tsukutsumi Cannon Island in Edo. Although the school building and training ground have not been completely completed for a year, after all, there are some children of the shogunate who have been enrolled, and the shelves have always been erected.

This drill was carried out in the "martial arts field", and the fan group of the drill claimed to be the disciples of the martial arts field, but in fact they were the elite soldiers of the "Odaiba group".

The Odaiba Group was set up specifically for Shinagawa Odaiba, and Shinagawa Odaiba was the last barrier in Edo, so the shogunate invested a lot of money, and it can be called well-armed and strong.

The soldiers skillfully operated the rifled guns and Mini rifles and conducted a wonderful drill, which shocked the princes and courtiers invited by the shogunate at that time - the firing range and power of rifled cannons and Mini rifles were far from being comparable to the bronze barrels and smoothbore guns of Fuso at that time.

And in the end, the scholars also dragged out a few large cylinders presented by the Mito clan for a comparative test, and this comparison suddenly made the old Mito feudal lord Qi Zhao's face flush - others don't know, he himself knows, Mito's big cylinder style is special.

In fact, this is a dismount that the old middle school gave Qi Zhao, "You shout every day, but have you beaten Miyi?" ”

Qi Zhao is dumb and can't say if he eats Coptis chinensis - he is a coastal defense hanger, how can he not know the power of rifled artillery. But his character is tough on the outside world, and anyone can make peace with Miyi, but he can't.

And he didn't agree when Mito wanted to offer a "giant fire" in the ninth month of the calendar, but how to convince his subordinates? Said that Mito's big tube was useless at all, and he couldn't say it, so he pretended not to know, but he didn't expect the old middle school to still remember this stubble and find his head today.

Originally, this was a secret move by Qi Zhao and the old junka, and both sides would not make a noise, but after the drill, the rumors that Mito's big cylinder was useless spread - this is because Qi Zhao usually pointed fingers at the shogunate and offended people.

Because of the shogunate's service setup, Qi Zhao, as a representative of the Tokugawa pro-domain, could only interfere in the shogunate from the top, and the concurrently served coastal defense was also an adviser in the final analysis, so he actually couldn't interfere deeply in the shogunate - of course, if the coastal defense was specifically assigned to do something, then there was room for operation.

But in order to show his authority, Qi Zhao once criticized the shogunate's armament after he became a coastal defense, and the three leaders of the shogunate's standing army were tired of him, and he had long wanted to tidy up Zhao, but he didn't have a chance - the family was the hermitage hall of the three royal families, and the position was extremely high, where was it so easy to tidy.

But the Odaiba group after this drill is Dafantou's subordinates, so Qi Zhao can still be fine, at the behest of Dafantou, rumors naturally spread - the martial arts drill was a hot spot in Edo at that time, and the rice people just left, who doesn't want to hear the inside story, is this Edo safe or not.

In fact, the large cylinder cast by the Mito Domain was considered good in Fuso at that time, but ordinary samurai and townspeople didn't think much of it, "Why can't you go far?" In order not to show their feet, the rifled guns fired live ammunition, so outsiders did not know that the rifled guns were not actually produced by Fuso. So everyone thought that the big cylinder cast by the Mito clan was of poor quality!

You are a person who shouts and fights every day, and the ordnance you make is not good, so Qi Zhao's reputation is very bad, but Qi Zhao can't justify that the rifled cannon was cast by Westerners - if you really say that, then you can't start a war with Miyi, because the ordnance can't do it.

Therefore, Qi Zhao did not jump out to directly oppose the decision of the General Assessment Council to "send someone to negotiate with Mi Ren as soon as possible", he felt that Mi Yi had always been domineering, and he naturally had the opportunity to play in the future, so there was no need to rush for a while.