In order to win over the Tokugawa clan and some of the retainer who were determined to reform the shogunate, Masahiro, the chief elder of the Naka Abe chamberlain, submitted a proposal to the public office Akira to invite the previous head of the Mito family, Saiaki, to participate in the discussion of the wind story.

The relationship between the contemporary Kokata family Kei and the Tokugawa Sai Showa has always been unfriendly, but in 1847 Sai Aki's son Keiki succeeded the Ichitsubashi family, which meant that the relationship between the two had eased, and even so, the chief elder Naka Abe was still very worried about the outcome of the matter - but the shogunate was now divided and could not form a unified and strong opinion, so Abe had to see Sai Akira as a good medicine to solve the problem, so he dared to ask Kokata for advice.

Usually, for most of the official documents from the old middle school assessment committee, as long as you greet the royal servants who serve the general, the old middle school's proposal can basically be passed, but this time the stakes are very high, so Abe personally ran to listen to the opinion of the public party - after all, this is against the public party family celebration has always been emotionally inclined, the cautious chief old middle school did not dare to be careless, and appeared in person so as not to give the villain a chance to slander, and also to prevent the public sample from having an unfavorable opinion of himself.

Sure enough, after watching the recital on the application for Qi Zhao to attend the seminar, Gong Fang Xiangjiaqing was silent for a long time, and recently the people around him have said a lot, all about the topic of the Royal Three Families and the Three Emperors, what "the thin number of people is worrying" or "the thin wings of the family lead to the fall of the central authority" and the like, now it seems that these people are all paving the way for today's Qi Zhao matter in advance.

Although for these reasons, he lifted Qi Zhao from the "prudent" punishment six years ago, but when he thought of the appearance of this unruly guy - after allowing Qi Zhao to participate in the shogunate politics, this guy would foam at the big assessment meeting again, I really couldn't be happy.

The chief elder Abe waited for a long time, and finally heard a fluttering word from above, "With Qi Zhao, then don't let me continue to worry about the big politics." ”

This sentence is obviously praising Qi Zhao, but how can Abe not hear the meaning of the heart, this is to remind himself that Qi Zhao may mess with power. But when Abe looked up and wanted to say something, the little surname shouted, and then the public stepped back on his own.

Although the princes did not have a high opinion of this prince, and there were so-called "generals living in hobbies" and "neglecting government", Abe knew that this was just a wrong impression - Iekei only took over as shogun at the age of forty-five, and he had developed the habit of cultivating obscurity for many years, and he easily did not express his opinions, but how could a person who could support his predecessor Mizuno Shikibe Shosuke twice issue tough "Upper Knowledge" orders, how could he be an "ignorant" person! In fact, the major policies of these years are still firmly in the hands of the public.

Abe was unwilling to take the risk of being unhappy with the princess, and his plan was frustrated, and he was helpless for a while, so he had to sullen in the palace of the imperial department.

In fact, this application for "allowing Qi Zhao to participate in the shogunate", Abe spent a lot of effort, not only seeking support from the side employers and the imperial side public, but also convincing the old middle school who were not on good terms with Qi Zhao in advance, and also said hello to several big eyes, the result was an empty joy, if you really give up halfway, then you want to greatly reform the idea of the shogunate and I don't know when it will start, it's really a good thing to do.

Most of the old and Ruo Nianji were not in the Imperial Department at this time, because he revealed to them the plan to reform the shogunate: after Qi Zhao came out of the mountain, he would definitely rectify the armament and reform the economy. These people were hooked up in advance.

These people read the wind and told the story that they knew that the shogunate would not be able to change it, and Qi Zhao was just a sharp blade to open the way, and the power of the shogunate would definitely be redistributed after the adjustment, and according to the structure of the shogunate, although Qi Zhao was noble, the core of the shogunate was still the Laozhong Evaluation Association, and most of the benefits would still fall on the heads of the departments headed by Laozhong and Ruonianji, so it was not okay not to prepare in advance.

Thinking of this, Abe's attendant smiled slightly, "The praying mantis catches the cicada and the yellow finch is behind", the shogunate led by Omefu and Mimefu has long been prepared, "You guys fight", I just want to be able to survive this big storm the following year safely.

But when he thought that he couldn't sell it today, he was expressionless again, "Hey, it's hard to do a good thing." ”

Suddenly, someone announced, "Hori-sama has arrived." ”

After Hori Riken entered the imperial house, he took his leave after a few official words, and no one noticed: when Hori-sama put down the tea bowl, one finger pointed upward, and then tapped it on the coffee table a few times.

After Hoririken left, Minister A breathed a sigh of relief, and Gongfang changed his mind, and then this Noh was about to be sung, but he was also very curious, and he didn't know what Horiken said in order to persuade Gongkata to change his mind.

Ometsu and Gomefu are important eyes and ears of the shogunate, responsible for supervising the shogunate and all the daimyos, and on the bright side, Daimefu is under the control of the old man, and the Gome is under the control of Ruonian, but in fact, from the candidate

There are regulations on funding, and they are the henchmen installed by the public in the shogunate, and even the elders are among the objects of their supervision.

If these people insist on opposing it, then the suggestions submitted by the old and middle schools will not be recognized by the public, but Damu Fu and Yumu Fu are usually unwilling to act easily.

This shogunate reform, Omefu and Mimefu finally showed their attitude - these people are very dissatisfied with the situation of the shogunate in recent years, and think that the shogunate has been dull in recent years, and they will take jujube pills like this, so they have already reached a tacit understanding with the chief old man Abe and others. Having said that, if these people can't be dealt with, Abe and the elders will definitely not submit a recital that allows Qi Zhao to go out of the mountain to participate in the pre-shogunate politics.

So what did Hori Toshiken say before he persuaded the public party to change his mind?

In fact, Jiaqing also knows the current situation of the shogunate, otherwise what would he do before pardoning Qi Zhao and prudently disposing of it and letting Qi Zhao's son Keiki inherit the Hitotsubashi family.

But reason is one thing, and feelings are another-Jiaqing is really tired and crooked.

In the twelfth year of Bunsei (1829), Qi Zhao succeeded as the head of the Mito Tokugawa family, and the thirty-seven-year-old Ieke was still the son of his father's family.

Although Qi Zhao also doesn't like the eleventh shogun Jia Qi, he can't stand Jia Qi often talking about Qi Zhao, similar to other people's children, causing critical blows to Jia Qing again and again. And Qi Zhao can also toss, Mito can't wait to show the world what he does, and Jiaqing, who is seven years older than Qi Zhao, is very incompetent.

Qi Zhao is known as both civil and military, and has created his own schools of war such as "Shenfa Liujiu Artillery Technique" and "Changshan Liunagi Knife Technique", and often writes sensational articles, songs, and scarlet sentences. And because of his outstanding appearance, Qi Zhao is rumored to be the lord of the merry domain who loves flowers and flowers, and the related erotic stories can't be finished for three days and three nights.

Finally, in the 8th year of Tenpo (1837), Iekei became the shogun of Seiyi, and in the 11th year of Tenpo (1841), he survived his elderly father Ieqi and completely grasped the power of the shogunate.

However, the reforms presided over by Iekei's teacher, Mizuno Tadashi, failed completely in the 13th year of Tenpo (1843), and although Mizuno made a comeback in the first year of Honghua (1844), the decline was already achieved, and a year later he was seized by political opponents and completely secluded.

At this point, Jiakei, who is already fifty-three years old, is completely disheartened, and entrusts government affairs to the old middle school led by Masahiro Abe, and he no longer asks about idle matters.

At this time, Qi Zhao was regarded as the political ally of Lao Zhongmino because of his too fierce opinions, and he was also forced to retire in the first year of Honghua and handed over the position of head of the family to his son.

Jiaqing and Qi Zhao will never see each other again, it is fragrant and smelly, and after a long time, Jiaqing's impression of Qi Zhao has also changed to a certain extent.

In the fourth year of Honghua (1847), the two heads of the Ichitsubashi family died violently, and the Kokata family Kei was stunned to find that the Tokugawa family, the Gosanjia family, the Gosankei and other important divisions had withered, and only Mito Tokugawa stood out.

Jiaqing has quite a lot of his own children, but at this time, the twelve sons actually only have one single seedling left by Jiaxiang, and Jiaxiang has been in poor health since he was a child, so he can only let Qi Zhao's seventh son inherit the Hitotsubashi family, and give the name "Qingxi" before the name.

At this point, no personal grudges mattered, and only the Mito man Ding Maosheng of the Tokugawa family and the important branch family needed to be supported just in case - and Keiki was smart and likable in words, believing that when he grew up by his side, he would be very different from his annoying father.

In this case, in case of a major event, it seems inevitable that Qi Zhao will re-participate in the shogunate, and the public family celebration also reveals this meaning in daily life, so this time someone proposed to let Qi Zhao participate.

But when it came to the end, Jiaqing regretted it a little, others didn't know it, but he knew that he was sixty years old, and his body was not as good as day by day, but Qi Zhao, who was seven years younger than him, heard that he was still energetic, so if he did something bold and reckless after participating in the shogunate, he might not be able to suppress it, so he said to the chief of the old middle school, Abe, "With Qi Zhao, then I don't want to worry about it."

Abe, who has always been empathetic, really didn't entangle, but Gongfang Jiaqing regretted it a little when he turned around, so he called Ome Furi Riken to listen to his confidant's opinion again.

Now Ome Fu has Fukatani Moribo, Hori Riken, and Ikeda Nagapu, among which Hori Riken is the most trusted by Iekei, if nothing else, Hori Riken once served as the Osaka Town to defeat the Great Shio Heihachiro Rebellion in one day, and he is called a "promising minister" - in fact, Hori Riken was quite embarrassed at the time, but Jiaqing didn't know it.

After the meeting, Hoririken explained in detail the current situation of the wind storytelling, and believed that it was necessary for a strong person to stand up and promote the decision. In fact, the old middle Abe and others have already made a decision, ready to reorganize the armament and refresh the shogunate, but such as

If the elders rush to the front, there is no room for maneuver - since ancient times, innovation must have drawbacks, and if you move, you will be to blame, and I am afraid that public opinion in the future will blame the shogunate center.

Although Gong Fangxiang is high, he is actually a lonely person, and no one can trust him, so Jiaqing rarely gives a clear opinion, but this time he had to speak:

"Qi Zhao is mentioned in the recital, but he acted violently, and I am afraid that Edo will have a lot of trouble from now on."

Hori Riken's attitude towards Qi Zhao eased in his tone of listening to the prince, but he was still a little worried, so he advised:

"It is rumored that Mito Tsuno's words are very different from those of the past, and it is said that what he said is quite old-fashioned."

Only honest people like Mr. Egawa Tanan find it useful to express their opinions during discussions, in fact, Lao Zhong, Ruo Nianji, and Omu Fu and others have already exchanged opinions in private countless times, and before asking Qi Zhao to participate in the discussion of wind storytelling, these people also came to ask Qi Zhao about his innovative measures so as not to get out of control.

Therefore, Hori Riken explained Qi Zhao's opinions and the measures to be taken by the old middle school and the public in detail, and the old middle Abe also introduced it before, and Jiaqing pondered it carefully, and felt that it was more consistent, and did not find any omissions.

But he was still worried that Qi Zhao would not be controlled, so he turned around and asked Horiken's opinion.

Omu Fu Hori knew that "freezing three feet is not a day's cold", and he didn't dare to guarantee that Qi Zhao would not be in a situation, so he persuaded Jiaqing from another angle:

"Sooner rather than later."

Hori Riken carefully explained to Qi Zhao that if the rice people really come to commit on a large scale, according to the information obtained this year, I am afraid that they will not be as "good" as in the past - it means that it can be delayed in the past, but now that the ships of the Western countries are strong and sharp, I am afraid that they will not be able to drag it out.

Therefore, it is inevitable to rectify armaments and refresh the shogunate.

If this is the case, then the hard-line Qi Zhao is undoubtedly the best candidate, who can not only suppress the matter with the identity of the Imperial Three Family and the prestige of the past, but also take the blame for the shogunate.

As for the Qi Zhao you are worried about taking advantage of this to increase his power, isn't this a rule handed down by the ancestors, Laozhong is selected from the genealogy daimyo above and below 200,000 koku in the territory of 25,000 stones, Qi Zhao can't be the old middle school anyway, and the Mito samurai can't be a shogun, let alone occupy any powerful positions, so don't worry too much.

Moreover, "everything is sooner rather than later", if Qi Zhao has any ambitions, it is better for him to be exposed early, you are still in power, plus our loyal subordinates, we can make him turn the sky upside down if we find out early - of course, Hori Riken does not dare to say "You are still in power now, if you delay it will be a big trouble for you to hang up", he said "The Holy Lord is in the court".

But Jiaqing has been a general for more than ten years, so he can naturally understand this meaning, he feels that it makes sense, his son Jiaxiang is not in good health and can not be counted on, and he is also sixty years old, rather than waiting for his son to take the throne Qi Zhao jumped out to point fingers, it is better to solve this matter in his own office.

But Jiaqing still didn't make a public statement, and he was ready to discuss it again with the people around him led by the royal servant, but he gave Ome Fu Hori Riken a famous knife in the name of "always serving the public", and the tendency of it is naturally unknown.

In fact, the shogunate has long reached a consensus on this reorganization of armaments and the refreshment of the bureaucracy, and the general's side, Lao Zhong, Ruo Nianji, Damu Fu and others have already colluded with Qi Zhao, just waiting for the nod of the public family.

Sure enough, the next day, the side employer personally notified the chief old middle Abe attendant, and Qi Zhao participated in the assessment of this matter, so he hurriedly started.

In the middle of June (the end of July in the Western calendar), Nagasaki sent two wind stories to Edo, and in late June (early August in the Western calendar), Qi Zhao was allowed to participate in the evaluation meeting, during which only a dozen days passed, and it looked very different from the shogunate's usual procrastinating style, but in fact, after the shogunate's great development of Ranxue and deepening its understanding of Western countries in recent years, all parties had long been intensively colluded, and their positions were close to the same.

After Qi Zhao participated in the wind storytelling evaluation meeting, he really lived up to expectations, and put forward a clear proposal on rectifying the armament and refreshing the shogunate, and in this suggestion, the old middle school quickly came up with a plan, and the public side also gladly approved it, and then the old middle, Ruo Nianji, Ome Fu and Qi Zhao and others had their own gains, and for a while everyone in the shogunate was happy and praised it, but Mr. Tanan, who had ignored the current situation before, and Oguri Tadashun, who had just returned to Edo for a few months, were hit to a considerable extent - there was no change in the service. But the rights in his hands have been withdrawn a lot, and the scope of his authority has been greatly reduced.

"The predecessors planted trees, and the descendants enjoyed the shade." This was a grumbling thing that Oguri said during a secret conversation with Mr. Tanan and Riyoshi Okubo, and was reprimanded by Mr. Tanan at the time.