Choshu Domain, Japan. Matsumoto Village on the eastern outskirts of Hagi Castle. Matsushita Murajuku.

In the two dilapidated wooden houses, several students from private schools, such as Takasugi Shinsaku and Yamada Xianyoshi, looked depressed.

It all started last year or even the year before. The year before, the Saga Domain, which was under the control of the neighboring and powerful Chinese Empire, annexed the remaining feudal states of the entire island of Kyushu, including Hizen, Higo, Bunzen, Bungo, and another powerful Satsuma Domain, and established a new Kyushu Domain, which declared independence from the jurisdiction of the Edo Shogunate. Affected by this, the Choshu Domain, where they were located, also annexed several adjacent feudal states such as Anyu, Iwami, and Shubo, and established a new Choshu Domain; The Tosa Domain even recruited the three feudal domains of Iyo, Awa, and Sanki on the island of Shikoku to form the Shikoku Domain. These three feudal states declared their independence one after another, and their Choshu domain, as the leader of the Shogunate Movement, led the daimyo of the Shikoku Domain and the Honshu Domain to officially launch the "Respect for the King" movement, which was echoed by dozens of feudal states.

At a time when the Chōshū Domain was throwing an olive branch to the Kyushu Domain, and the "Respect for the King" movement was in full swing and victory was in sight, the new shogunate Tokugawa Ieshige and the shogunate Elder Ii Naobu concluded an unequal treaty with the Chinese Empire, the Japan-China Treaty of Friendship and Commerce, without the emperor's approval, in order to suppress the rebellion and defeat the Choshu domain, and sought the support of the Chinese Imperial Army.

Then, last year, the United States and French envoys who had heard the news concluded unequal treaties against Japan, which led to the intensification of the crisis in Japan as a whole, and public opinion boiled over and people of insight opposed it one after another. Their teacher, Yoshida Shoin, was even more indignant, and quietly hatched a plan to oppose the shogunate and assassinate the old Ii Naobi. But what I didn't expect was that their teacher Yoshida Shoin hadn't had time to start the plan, so he was arrested a few months ago by the lord of the Choshu domain, Mori Keikin, and sent to Edo, and today the news came from the Edo shogunate that their teacher Yoshida Shoin was taken to the execution ground three days ago and beheaded.

"Jin Zuo, let's just rush directly to Edo, ambush on the road and kill the old immortal Ii Naobi. Avenge the teacher! Yamada said with red eyes.

Hearing him say this, the rest of the classmates also shouted for revenge for the teacher.

Takasugi Jinsaku looked helpless, and his voice was hoarse but sonorous: "No! Now the shogunate is like a mad dog, searching for people related to the teacher, and we will be arrested before we even reach Edo. What's more, Ii Naobi has already been assassinated once, and he must have been heavily guarded, guarded by many samurai, and we have no chance at all. Besides, if it weren't for the protection of the feudal lord, we wouldn't even be able to stay here, and there would be no place for us. You still have to start from scratch! ”

"Jin Saku! Don't say anything about the feudal lord, that's a villain! The teacher was loyal to him for advice, and he trusted him to tell him about the plan to assassinate Ii Naobi, but he didn't expect him to betray the teacher, reveal the matter, and hand the teacher over to the shogunate! Yamada scolded angrily: "Maori is a complete villain, unworthy of being the lord of the domain, let alone the lord of my life." ”

Hearing Yamada Xianyi scold so blatantly and publicly, the other students became frightened and looked out of the wooden house, afraid of being heard. Takasugi Shinsaku shouted violently: "Silence, shut up!" Yamada, and all the junior brothers, do you know that although the feudal lord was at fault, he was forced to hand over the teacher, and to tell you the truth, it was the teacher who took the initiative to ask the feudal lord to find the feudal lord and hand him over. Why can't you understand the teacher's painstaking efforts? The teacher said that today's Japan is facing the same fate as North Korea, that is, being annexed by the powerful Chinese Empire! The only way to save Japan was the Choshu Domain, which was now allied with the Shikoku Domain, and even with the covert support of Emperor Komei, it was only barely a rival to the shogunate. Originally, the slight advantage was only in weapons and military strength, but now, the shogunate has taken refuge in the Chinese Empire, and with the assistance of the Kyushu Domain, the Choshu Domain and other forces that have fallen to the shogunate are in a weak position, and the only way to succeed in the fall of the shogun is to win over more neutral feudal states. ”

Yamada Xianyi distinguished: "What does this have to do with the teacher? ”

Takasugi Jinsaku sighed, closed his eyes and said with a painful face: "The teacher said that the strength of the Shogunate Sect is not enough now, especially the Choshu Domain must be well guarded, and it is not yet the time to directly fight the Shogunate." And the teacher is willing to use his personal sacrifice to expose the ugly faces of the shogun and the old Ii Naobi, so that the elites of other feudal kingdoms also have the feeling of sadness, hate the shogunate and overthrow the shogunate. And the teacher wanted to use his blood to wake up the people who were still watching and insensitive, especially those neutral feudal states who were still hesitating and swaying from side to side......"

When Takasugi Jinsaku said this, he couldn't cry anymore.

After listening to Takasugi Shinsaku's explanation, Yamada Xianyi and the other brothers and sisters cried one after another, shocked by the teacher's patriotism.

Half a ring, the crowd recovered their mood. Yamada Xianyi and everyone looked at Takasugi Jinsaku with blank eyes, and said, "Jinzuojun, what do you say should be done now?" ”

Takasugi Jinsaku's face was filled with a look of confusion, and he muttered, "The teacher's future affairs must be handled well." The teacher's body, Kido Takayoshi in Edo, will be well collected and transported back to his hometown. Now it is only possible to defeat the shogunate by continuing to follow the teacher's strategy, fully assisting the Choshu feudal lords, and uniting more feudal states throughout the country. Change the fortunes of the country! ”

A student said dissatisfiedly: "Senior brother, the strength of our Choshu Domain is so strong, and we have united the Shikoku Domain, plus the Emperor's righteousness, why can't we overthrow the shogunate?" Waiting like this, I don't know when I will be able to avenge the teacher! ”

Takasugi Jinsaku admonished with a serious face: "Everyone, don't underestimate the shogunate. Although they are rotten, after all, they occupy a quarter of the country's land, and they are still the most fertile territory, and they control the three major capitals, Edo, Osaka, and Kyoto, and have the right to mint and mine the national currency, and an army of nearly 100,000 people, which is not so easy to overthrow. The most important thing is that they not only have a group of vassal states to support them, but now they have taken advantage of the powerful Chinese Empire by betraying their national interests. It is easier said than done to overthrow the shogunate! ”

Yamada Xianyi echoed: "Yes, the current shogunate is a gang of Japanese traitors, all of whom have become lackeys of China. For the sake of their own small interests, they tried to occupy Japan all the time, maintain their rule, and betray their ancestors. It seems that sooner or later, like North Korea, will be annexed. ”

Takasugi reassured, "Don't be too discouraged. In fact, if Japan wants to rise, the biggest enemy is not the shogunate, but the neighboring country, the Chinese Empire. Why did they rise? It is because there is a great monarch who carries out changes in the whole society, and correspondingly, as long as we have a strong leader in Japan, who carries out a reform movement, and moves forward boldly and courageously, we will surely be able to rise as quickly as the Chinese Empire. However, first of all, there must be a core army that can fight well, and I have decided to rely on the support of the lord of the Choshu domain to create a core army, which can be regarded as a strange army, and it will be called the Choshu Domain's strange army. Help the Choshu Domain train its army, make friends with Western powers, buy weapons, and make the Choshu Domain strong first, and then defeat the shogunate in one fell swoop and unify Japan. ”

The impassioned words made everyone feel high spirits and blood boiling. However, they didn't notice that Takasugi Jinsaku's eyes were even more depressed.

Whether he wants to admit it or not, Takasugi Jinsaku has actually realized deep down that Japan cannot be saved. What if the Choshu Domain unites the Shikoku Domain and other feudal domains at the moment, and even if it receives assistance from the Western powers to buy weapons, what if it can barely defeat the shogunate? The powerful neighbor that had been eyeing him from the sidelines had bared its fangs and swallowed the whole island of Kyushu into its belly. It is really that the country is too powerful, it has recovered its original strength, it is as strong as the Han and Tang dynasties in history, and it is still expanding everywhere, Takasugi Shinsaku, who is familiar with history books, naturally knows that the day when the other party will fully occupy the entire territory of Japan is getting closer and closer.

How Kyushu Island was forcibly annexed by the other party, Takasugi Shinsaku naturally knows. The other side only sent less than 20,000 troops, using well-trained troops and weapons more advanced than the West, and saw the defeat of the most powerful Satsuma clan on the island of Kyushu without much effort, forcing the Shimazu family, which had always been extremely proud, to surrender. In addition, the powerful naval fleet of the other side forced the arrogant Tokugawa shogunate to surrender in humiliation in one fell swoop, and signed a treaty that betrayed Japan's interests and humiliated the country. With such force, Takasugi Jinsaku already understood at this moment that the lord of the Choshu domain, Mori Keiqin, was only afraid of the early Qing Dynasty, and did not dare to attack the shogunate rashly, otherwise according to the signed "Japan-China Treaty of Friendship and Commerce", the troops of the neighboring countries would soon appear in the territory of the Choshu domain at the request of the shogunate.

However, Takasugi Shinsaku admired the fact that the emperor of the neighboring country was able to take control of Kyushu without directly announcing the occupation of Kyushu and then further attacking Japan. If he was in this position, he might not be able to resist such a temptation. It is inevitable that there will be an all-out attack, in a hurry to occupy the whole of Japan. Instead, he hoped that the other side would directly send troops to attack Japan, preferably the shogunate. In this way, he would suggest that the Choshu Domain unite with the other feudal states, abandon the hostility with the shogunate, unite with the outside world, and take the opportunity to control the power of the country, although it still cannot defeat the other party, but at this time, if it can unite with the Western countries, especially Tsarist Russia and Britain, which are not much against the Chinese Empire, and fight hard under their interference, maybe they can survive in the cracks, and succeed in solving the current crisis by luck.