At the beginning of October 1853, Sawamura Sonojo, who had sent Banoguri Tadashi, finally returned to Hakujo, and when he saw Naohide and Okubo, he cried loudly, startling the two of them.

I thought something big had happened, but when I asked carefully, the two laughed, it turned out that Sawamura couldn't bear it, he had been going back and forth between Edo and the white lord for two times since his mission in April this year, and he only stayed at home for less than seven days on the way, and the back house caught fire - just now on the dock, Mrs. Sawamura threatened him to "reconcile" if he didn't go home!

Compared to other places at this time, the customs of the white lord are very different:

The person in charge of the legal assessment office is Naoxiu's wife Yingzi, and under her promotion, the status of the white housewives is very high, they can take the initiative to end the marriage, and the pit is that Heli can divide the family property and children - where to reason.

Women elsewhere are driven home, the good can only bring the dowry back, the bad is empty-handed, as for the belonging of the child, don't think about it, this is due to the fact that at this time the woman can only rely on her husband to live, but the white lord is different, because of the lack of manpower, women also have to show up to do things, and the money earned may not be less than that of men, plus Mrs. Yingzi added fuel to the fire, and the lord is a soft-eared person, so it accumulates over time, which and the departure is also grandiose in the decree last year.

It's not that the men haven't resisted, but this is not aligned - there are many women and men in the white master, and even if they have wives, they won't say it clearly, otherwise what if the wife runs away in anger? And if you don't have a wife, you don't want to get married if you oppose and leave! Therefore, there are not many people who really dare to stand up, and the resistance naturally ends in failure.

In this regard, the high-level of the White Lord Executive Office is happy to see its defeat, why, because of the lack of labor - where the strong woman wants to come out to serve the public and even participate in military training, what are you doing to suppress others and cut off your own arm?

Although it is a "good thing" to leave, but this time it made it difficult for Sawamura Sonomashiro, and his wife didn't let him leave home for too long, but he couldn't help himself as the envoy of the white lord, and he might have to return to Edo immediately this time, and he finally got ahead, but the backyard caught fire again, what a tragedy in life! That's why he lost his temper in front of Naohide and Okubo.

Sawamura was only in a mood for a while, and he regretted it after crying, but he regretted that there was no place to sell the medicine, so he could only clean up his mood and report the results of the mission to the two adults.

It turned out that after Sawamura successfully sent Mimefu Oguri Tadashun back to Edo, he went to the survey office to hand in the furs - the shogunate promoted the white lord acting official to the commissioner, and also asked for a daily tribute of 2,000 seal skins, although it was not explicitly said that he would pay back this year, but where did the white lord dare to repay the debt, he naturally paid tribute honestly.

Sawamura paid tribute once in May of this year - at that time, the shogunate did not require that the white lord take the initiative to pay tribute, so he was also familiar with it, but after the smooth handover of the goods, the survey office handed him a sealed paperwork, asking him to return immediately to the white lord to serve.

At this time, Yu Zhicheng already knew about the Gongfang family, so it was expected that all the orders would be given to the head of the family, and he didn't dare to slack off, so he hurriedly went to the Egawa family and the Oguri family to find out the news - what did the shogunate want the head of the family to do?

As a result, Mr. Tanan told him that the shogunate wanted Naohide to return to Edo for an audience, first, that the succession ceremony of the new prince was to be attended by Naohide, who was the minister of the distant country, and that the shogunate wanted to solicit Naohide's opinion on the visit of the black ship, and that by the way, he also wanted to listen to him talk about how the northern land could defend against the Lucians.

Originally, the shogunate's foreign affairs power was in the hands of a small number of shogunates, and it was known that Laochu, Omeifu, Wakanian, Haiphong, Nagasaki and related people were concerned, but as soon as the black ships of the Mi people came, they broke this convention - everyone swaggered to Uraga and even entered Edo Bay, and Edo was shaken, and many people went to Uraga to see Western ships in person, and it was ridiculous to blockade again:

First, the matter is very important, and there are many princes and ministers who are concerned;

The second is that the rice people came back the following year, and when the time comes, one will not be handled well, and the blockade will mean carrying the black pot.

Therefore, on the first day of the seventh month of the Heli calendar, the old middle school ordered the translation of the Mi Ren Guoshu to be distributed to the daimyo and important ministers of the various domains to consult countermeasures - originally after the black ship visited, there was a lot of discussion between the government and the opposition, and once the news came out, it was like adding fuel to the fire, and it was like a madness!

In fact, the old people sent a secret letter, that is, acting in secret, and not all the daimyo and shogunate were asked, but I don't know who leaked the news, at this time, that is, in 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 exaggerated it became, at this time someone had already said that "the next year the Southern Barbarian soldiers and ships 100 generals and 1,000 soldiers brought tens of thousands of armor into Kou Edo", to this point, and then secrecy is undoubtedly fueling the rumors, Therefore, the elders simply announced the inside story of the visit of the rice boat to all the daimyo and important ministers, and asked everyone to give advice.

Originally, the old people thought that this time everyone knew the inside story, and then the rumors naturally subsided, but they didn't expect that because it was related to the safety of Edo, everyone became interested in how to deal with it, and many people in the people wrote a book of Jianhaku, and there was a way to find a way to submit it, and those who had no way to go to the teahouse or even the roadside to publicize it, and more people participated for a while.

But after all, the exaggerated number of rice and warships was not spread, and the panic was alleviated, and the shogunate was left to it - after all, as soon as this road was opened, the number of princes and shogunates involved increased, and all kinds of opinions came out, and the internal fight was about to start, so there was still a discussion between the idle people and the market.

While the discussion was in full swing in Edo, messengers to distant places were still departing one after another—there was no way, there were too many people to inform.

Originally, the white lord who was the far country envoy and the barrier of the northern land should be in the first batch of notices, but because of the long distance and the lack of attention, the result was delayed until Sawamura Sonoshi suddenly appeared and no one went, come on, don't send another person, you can take the notice yourself.

Sawamura was stunned when he heard Mr. Tanan's words, and quickly replied:

"Mr. Oguri-sama has arrived at the White Lord, and he has already brought back the Kenbai Book, and the opinions about the visit of the black ship and the defense of the Lucians are written in it, is there a mistake in this survey office?"

"And about coming back to meet the prince and ascend to the throne, didn't Lord Shangsuke say that the lord should stay in the white lord for ten years? Please also ask for the help of Lord Gomae to confirm it. ”

Egawa Taro Saemon was furious when he heard it, as a Kanding Ginmi, he was very concerned about the situation of the White Lord - his own students were there, and he personally saw the official documents of the White Lord at the Kanding Institute, but this time there was such a mistake!

Mr. Tanan is not angry because of his mistakes, but he is very dissatisfied with himself and the recent shogunate, mistakes are trivial things, but this is a clear proof of the chaos of the shogunate - after the death of the public family, Qi Zhao and his family took the opportunity to make trouble, and the old and middle people lost their ways, and the great imperial palace you look at what this good shogunate has become!

"It's a mess", this is how Mr. Tan'an has felt recently.

On the twelfth day of the sixth month of the calendar, the black ship of the rice people left.

After that, most of the coastal defense was returned to Edo, but Mr. Tanan stayed at the Uraga office for five more days, so he deliberately stayed for a few more days for fear that the rice people would kill him.

Just because he stayed for five more days, when he rushed back to Edo, Oguri Tadashun had already set off for the White Lord, although Oguri left him a message, but it was only approximately, so Mr. Tanan only knew that the Hori family had been promoted to the rank of Yulu and the White Lord had become the commissioner's office, and he had no chance to know the will of the public to Naohide, and the official document of the survey office only had the details of the establishment of the White Lord's office and the annual tribute, so he had heard of the ten-year covenant for the first time.

Zhixiu is the heir of the mantle that Jiang Chuan has high hopes for, how can he be in the white master for ten years at this stormy time of employing people! What's going on behind the scenes?

As for soliciting opinions from the relevant princes and important ministers of the shogunate, this was an order that was only given on the first day of the seventh month of the Japanese calendar, so Mr. Tanan did not know that Oguri had accepted the order of the old man to ask Naohide for advice.

But I don't know it.,The sealed official document that Sawamura Sonojo got from the survey was from Wakanian's order.,It can be seen that Wakanian-su didn't know that Oguri Tadashun was ordered to go to the white lord to inquire about it - Mr. Tan'an is sure that Naohide is a very cautious person.,Without the order of the shogunate, he would never take the initiative to present the Kenhakush.。

Because he is a coastal defense hanger, so if the year also specifically asked for his own opinion, about the national letter of the rice people, do you need to be Naoxiu Jianbai - even if it is done

But many people in the shogunate still don't pay attention to the white lord, of course they said they need it, and they asked casually at the time, and they also learned that Naohide was going back to Edo to participate in the new Gongfang Succession Ceremony, and he hadn't seen Naohide for almost three years, and he was very happy at the time.

But isn't that a joke now?

The orders issued by the center are inconsistent, and the chaos of the shogunate can be seen!

Thinking of this, Mr. Tanan took Sawamura Soyuki to break into the Oguri family's mansion at night - I don't know if it was a tiring journey or anger, anyway, Oguri Tadashun had just returned to Edo and fell ill, and Mr. Tanan had visited him once before, when Oguri was unconscious with a high fever.

Today Oguri has been much better, at least he can meet guests, so Mr. Tanan carefully inquired about the situation of Oguri's envoy, and also confirmed the origin of the ten-year covenant, after listening to Mr. Chestnut, he wanted to get angry, but he couldn't see Oguri's sick appearance, he just complained that Oguri was "too straightforward", Oguri smiled bitterly, and said the reason why Jiang Chuan couldn't refute:

"The two of us can also send rumors to remind us of the earthquake in the countries, the East China Sea, Higashiyama, and the South China Sea in the following year. I can only turn to the Great Imperial Palace. ”

Mr. Tanan could only smile bitterly, "Naoxiu, this demon, let him go." As for the official letter sent to Lord Ruonian, let's not come out, let the white lord find a way to deal with it himself, and if he gets mixed up, won't he be able to go back to Edo. ”

Sawamura Sonojo is different from Okubo Riji, who went to Edo last year, Okubo is an old friend of Oguri Tadashun, and he was also invited out of the mountain by Naohide's own hometown, and he is the town of the white lord, and he is Naohide's confidant, so Mr. Tanan and Oguri have a lot of things to say about Okubo, but Sawamura is new, so when they talk, Sawamura can only stand in the courtyard in a regular manner.

Mr. Tanan called Sawamura in and said to him, "You can send this letter back to Lord Bai as it is, and let Naohide decide what to do with it." ”

In addition, Mr. Tanan also explained to Sawamura the latest Edo trends, that is, it is still a mess of porridge, whether the war is or the public has different opinions, and now the appearance of the Lusians in Nagasaki is even more fueling, and it is estimated that there will be no results until the construction of the princes from all over the country is submitted, and the timing is estimated to be September (and calendar).

Sawamura ran away with Mr. Tan'an for a while—what was the original thing to do, and now what to do, and said in his heart, "You Edo people really know how to play", so he hurriedly set off the next day to rush back to the white master.

Naohide and Okubo listened to Sawamura Sonoki's report while reading the paperwork, and when he finished his report, the two of them soothed Sonojo with kind words, and then asked him to hurry home to put out the fire, as for who to send the envoy later-the appearance of the Lucian in Nagasaki is a new situation, since it is asked about Naohide's head, the wind said that the book still has to be handed over, and Sawamura also figured out this truth, it is estimated that the white lord will send someone to Edo immediately anyway, so he is embarrassed.

When Sawamura left, Okubo frowned, and he said to Naohide:

"Sawamura is usually smart and decisive, but now he doesn't seem to have a good heart."

Sawamura cried, and Okubo was tired and crooked, he was a hero's nature, and he didn't pay much attention to the love of his children, so his evaluation of Sawamura suddenly lowered a lot.

Zhixiu smiled slightly, "Liji, you are a natural talent, and you can be dazzling without polishing, but some people need to be cultivated for a long time to show their talents, but after all, this is the norm." ”

After saying that, the two got together to study whether Naohide should go to Edo to participate in the succession ceremony of the new prince - it stands to reason that they should go, at least they are familiar, and it would be a bit too frivolous to be absent. But there is a reason not to go, there is a big battle between the white lord and Lucia at the mouth of the Oolong River in May next year, and if Naohide goes to Edo if he returns immediately, the white lord freezes the port in winter, so he can only return in April next year, and it is now the beginning of October, and if he is not there for seven months, everything may be delayed.

So whether Naohide will go to Edo or not? What a headache!

In the end, Naoxiu made a decision, dragged it out, and asked the envoy to Edo to report the ten-year appointment of the Great Imperial Palace, no matter what, first ensure the battle of the Oolong River Estuary! Heaven and Buddha are to blame, and if they miss this opportunity, the white lord may die without a place to bury him in the future!