On October 15, 1862, after a dinner party held for Tsunaki Hashimoto, Mito celebrity Fujita Biao took the lead and asked Okubo Riji about the reclamation of Ezo.

At this time, there were not only the two great consuls of the shogunate, Keinaga and Keiki, but also the new old Itakura Katsushizu's masterminds, Yasugoro Yamada and Sakuma Zoyama, as well as the courtiers of the three families of Satsuma, Choshu, and Tosa.

Actually, Okubo is not a good target.

As for the reason, when Hashimoto was exiled to Ezo, Okubo took care of him, and who didn't know that the host of this dinner, Naohide Hori, was Okubo's benefactor, so this Fujita questioned Okubo and offended the host and guest of honor at the same time, and was suspected of smashing the field.

But Fujita Biao has been famous for a long time, and he is old, so he wants to rely on the old and sell the old, and everyone really has no choice but to endure it for a while.

"In the Great Edo Earthquake in November 1855, if it weren't for the revelation of the Heavenly Secret, I don't know where you would have had the opportunity to appear Fujita, I don't know how to thank you."

Naohide complains secretly while watching how Okubo responds.

Okubo is also a person, as the three heroes of the Restoration in later generations, he is not afraid of someone picking on thorns, not to mention that he has fought with Fujita Biao before, and he has never fallen behind at that time:

In the fifth year of Kaei (1852), when Okubo was sent to Edo, and when he attended a gathering of celebrities and gentlemen, Fujita Biao asked everyone to write a poem on the theme of Ou Kusu.

At that time, there were three people who were taught, not counting Okubo, and the Choshu Yoshida Jufang present was also one of them, and the other person was Higo Miyabe Dingzang.

Yoshida and Miyabe both chanted poems praising Kusunoki Masanari, but Okubo didn't give Fujita face, and published poems on the spot to satirize, but fortunately, Sakuma Zoyama turned around, which was able to end.

Now that ten years have passed, this Fujita has risen and fallen, and now he is the mastermind of the general's posterior Keiki, but Okubo is no longer Wuxia Amun:

This time he returned to Edo, and Okubo was rewarded with 300 koku, which was already the banner of the shogunate's 500 koku;

And the shogunate also declared an official position for him, although the Kyoto small court has not yet approved it, but this is also a qualification after all.

So Okubo was not to be outdone, and Mr. Fujita Biao of the East Lake came and went, and in the matter of Ezo land reclamation, the two of them talked more and more, and gradually became angry.

In this regard, everyone present secretly laughed:

Who doesn't know that this Okubo is a generational experience, and Fujita is "Xiang Zhuang sword dance, intended for Pei Gong".

Therefore, the dispute between these two people is a medicine primer, and it must be a good show later.

It turned out that at the beginning of June, Matsudaira Keinaga was inaugurated as the shogunate, and in early July, Hitotsubashi Yoshiki was promoted to shogun, and in leap August, the two joined forces to start the Bunkyu Reform.

It stands to reason that Qingxi and Qingyong are both generals of the Qi Zhao family, and now that everyone has turned over together, they should work together.

But now it is the world, "there is no first, there is no second", so the differences between the two people are getting bigger and bigger:

First of all, it's a question of who is the main one.

This Qingxi is Qi Zhao's own son, and it is said that it is logical to inherit the mantle of Qi Zhao's lineage, but after all, he has not achieved anything before; And Keiyong's Echizen Fukui Domain, in recent years, the cultivation and industry can be done well, plus the factor of age, Keiei thirty-five, Keiki twenty-six, so the princes and shogunates are more inclined to support Keiyong.

Moreover, Keiyong was the lord of the domain in the 9th year of Tenpo (1838) and became a vassal in the 14th year of Tenpo (1843).

But Qingxi, as the head of the Ichitsubashi family, he doesn't have this condition.

The territory of the Imperial Sanqing is under the management of the shogunate, and the retainers are also regarded as the same as the flag book and the imperial family, and they are all serving in the shogunate, so Qingxi does not have a few powerful henchmen, or he is a general

, his brother Keitsu, the lord of the Mito domain, couldn't look past it, so he supported a few retainers - that's how the mastermind Fujita Biao came.

Although Qingxi is desperately rowing, after all, the time to turn over is still shallow, and this is not easy, but it is just one more powerful Sakuma Xiangshan.

But the trick is that Qingxi adheres to the concept of Qi Zhao's strong rebellion, and Sakuma is actually the pioneer of the founding of the country, how can this be reasonable.

But not Sakuma:

In addition to Sakuma's shrewdness and ability, and his reputation, this one was born in the Matsushiro Sanada family, and the Sanada family and the new old Itakura Katsujing are of the same bloodline, both of which can be traced back to the Sanamatsudaira family, so Sakuma is not only quite important in the Sanada family, but also because of this relationship, he is also favored by the old Itakura.

Moreover, although the head of the Sangming family, Matsudaira Dingjing, is one of the four brothers of Takasu and an adopted son-in-law, the main room is still the bloodline of the original Sangming Matsudaira family.

Therefore, holding Sakuma, Keiki also deepened the relationship with the four brothers of Laozhong Itakura and Takasu at the same time.

In addition to the battle for status, this Qingxi and Qingyong's political views are quite different:

Like Qi Zhao, although he loves Lanwu, Qingxi is also an out-and-out powerful faction at present;

As for Qingyong, his position was a little wandering before the Anzheng Prison, but fortunately, Qi Zhao was still alive back then, so he didn't show it too much.

But now, after holding this power, Qingyong shouted on his lips, but his ass was already crooked, and many of the measures in this long-term innovation will not look back when he is rushing towards Westernization.

The most typical, Qingyong feels that the title of "Elder" is a bit out of place, and has always wanted to change it to "President of Political Affairs".

The struggle for status, coupled with the gradual divergence of political opinions, but after all, the time is still shallow, so Qingyong and Qingxi still maintain a harmonious atmosphere on the surface.

But the big guy can endure it, it doesn't mean that his subordinates can bear it, therefore, Fujita Biao, who claims to be the mastermind of Qingxi, excused himself to stir up trouble this time, and everyone knows the reason, so they are waiting to see a good show.

At this time, Okubo and Fujita were a little angry, and the matter of reclamation of Ezo had already been discussed.

What is the most important thing, that is, the relationship between the institute and the people and horses cultivated by the various families.

It turned out that at the end of August, Hakodate Governor Hori Toshiki returned to Edo, and when he reported on the reclamation situation in early September, this big mouth didn't control himself:

Originally, at the Edo Castle University appraisal meeting, Hori Toshiki said that it was very good, what Ezo is divided into 14 countries, what Western farm tools and the like, everyone praised, "The tiger father has no dogs, and the Hori family has another capable minister."

Such a simple affair, but at the end, Hori Riki actually came out with another moth, "There is no shortage of talented people who come to Hakodate to cultivate, please follow the old example of the martial arts, and choose the best to serve the Hakodate office." ”

Actually, it's nothing, Naohide and Hori Toshiki talked about it afterwards, he just felt that the government decrees of each family were different, and it was too difficult to communicate in Ezo, so he wanted to build a unified structure, get a federation or something, and save the family from having to work hard again and again - of course, because it is mainly based on the commission, so it is best for each family to send someone to the commission.

But the problem is that Keiyong and Keiki are engaged in Wenjiu innovation, and such a big move is just to say, "Non-pedigree daimyo can be Laozhong", which means that the shogunate now treats all princes equally, no longer engages in distant and close relatives, and everyone has the opportunity to participate in major politics.

But in fact, this is a vision, Shimazu Qibin danced so happily, and at present, he is just an old middle school, and he is not a formal old middle school in daily governance.

But Hori Rixi is good, and he stepped out in one step.

You must know that the lectures and professors of the martial arts institute are the courtiers of the princes, but these are all preaching and teaching, and they have no actual power. But if you put the non-flag book and the royal family into the box hall office, it doesn't mean to offer it, this is to dig up the princes

Corner or how to drop?

Can you dig people up today, but won't you take back the fields that each family has worked so hard to cultivate tomorrow?

If you think about it this way, Hori Rixi's suggestion is meaningful.

Therefore, at that time, an old man came forward to stop Hori Rixi and asked him to go back and write a careful statement, and then it was not too late for everyone to discuss the matter.

Regardless of Hori Rixi's intentions, after the meeting, there was a rumor that was rampant:

"The shogun saw the joy and manipulated the selection of the five bigwigs, the authority of the princes became increasingly heavy, and the shogunate flag was restless, but fortunately Hori Toshiki stepped forward.

It deliberately proposed to choose a courtier as a courtier, which can be described as-for-tat. ”

And what's even more troublesome is that Qiben and the royal family have expressed their support for the rumors:

"Even if you really dig a corner, the shogunate shares the Ezo land, shouldn't the princes show their sincerity?

The edict said that the selection of the five bigwigs, Qingxi took advantage of this matter to invite the princes to participate in the big politics, and now the old middle grid, if the year is full of mail, it is difficult to morality the Sichuan family's flag, there is no virtuous person in the royal family, since it is said to be the break of the door to raise the virtuous, then why can't the flag be sent if the year or even the old middle?! ”

In fact, since it is called innovation, the change is naturally the abandonment of interests and the fluctuation of people's hearts, especially the majority of ministers, just to express their dissatisfaction with this matter.

Now Qingyong and Qingxi are in charge, and the division of labor between the two is gradually clear, Qingyong focuses on Jinglun (economy), Qingxi focuses on foreign affairs, and as for other major matters, the two of them discussed with the old middle.

The two presided over the innovation, but now the spearhead is aimed at Qingxi alone, what's going on?

Considering that some flags have been cooperating with Qingyong's innovation recently, the Qingxi series, which is already feeling weak, is inevitably a little careful.

Therefore, Fujita is holding on to it today, although Okubo is not the initiator of Hori Toshiki, but as Hakodate Town, do you dare to say that you don't know?

However, this move of the courtiers into the office is indeed a sore spot under the current shogunate system, and Naohide really doesn't dare to let Okubo open up, otherwise it's right or wrong, so as the master, Naohide has to come forward to dissuade him.

As for the method of dissuasion, then there is only a thin mud, anyway, Okubo told a bunch of reclamation experiences and stories earlier, and everyone listened to it with relish, so it's not bad to interrupt.

Since Hori Toshiki's words can be extended to mean that "the shoguns such as Kimoto are dissatisfied with Keiki and even the princes", then saying some good things about the princes at this time can somewhat ease some of the emotions.

Wenjiu innovation, although it was only launched in leap August this year, this has just blossomed and borne little, but since Qingyong became the elder in early June, he has done a few beautiful things, and Zhixiu has selected one casually:

"Mr. Yunxuan, this Yokohama Quanye Bank is thriving, you have made great contributions, can you show one or two to feast on the same."

The four confidants of the shogunate elder Keinaga, in addition to Hashimoto Tsunaki today, Yokoi Tokuri, Nakane Shiji and Mioka Hachiro were also present, this person is overwhelming, so how can Mito Fujita ask Okubo, these people are all sitting firmly in the Diaoyutai - after all, even if the fire burns on himself, one person will be extinguished with a mouthful of foam.

But Mioka Hachiro never expected that Naoxiu would come forward and turn around, and it would really involve him.

Yokohama Bank, which opened in leap August, is indeed doing thriving business now, and it is a good intention to mention this to make a name for himself as the president.

Now all of you here are financial saints, and even Fujita Biao once presided over the Tenpo reform of the Mito Domain, and each of them has a stake in the bank, so when Naohide mentioned it, everyone applauded and wanted to know more about it.

Mioka was embarrassed, so he had to start the introduction.

But listening to it, everyone was a little solemn, this bank matter is said to have been first proposed by the old man Jiushi Guangzhou, and now it seems that this person's vision is quite far-sighted.