After Saigo Takamori finished writing, he put down the pen with satisfaction, and Chiho Kirino stepped forward on his knees, calmly and skillfully packed up the pen, ink, paper and inkstone for Saigo Takamori, so that he could freely appreciate the manuscript written. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

Saigo Takamori looked at the manuscripts he had written one by one, and he was very happy for a while.

"Chiho, come and see." Saigo Takamori said, handing the manuscript in his hand to Chiho Kirino, who respectfully took the manuscript with both hands and looked at it carefully.

"Uncle's calligraphy is getting stronger and stronger." Chiho Kirino looked at the manuscript and praised softly.

"Hehe, it's not easy to get your Chiho's praise!" Hearing Chiho Kirino praise his calligraphy, Saigo Takamori laughed.

As a famous talented woman, Chiho Kirino's calligraphy attainments are extremely high, so although she is a junior, she is very happy to be praised by her.

“…… The thin rent and tax are used to enrich the people, that is, to support the national strength. Therefore, even if the state affairs are complicated and the money is insufficient, we must abide by the tax customization, and the loss will not abuse the bottom. Looking at the things of the past and the present, in the world where the way is unknown, when the bitter wealth is insufficient, we will use the vulgar officials who know Xiaohui to gather skillfully to solve the temporary shortcomings, just like good ministers who are good at managing money, and abuse the people with cruel means, and the people are unbearable, and they want to avoid accumulation, and they tend to be cunning and cunning. The top and bottom deceived each other, the officials and the people were enemies, and finally fell apart......"

Chiho Kirino recited this paragraph softly, thinking of the farmers who worked hard in the fields all day but still did not have enough food and clothing, and couldn't help but let out a soft sigh.

Hearing Chiho Kirino's chanting and sighing, Saigo Takamori couldn't help but feel a little heavy when he thought of the peasants who were still living in great difficulty.

Although the rule of the shogunate has been overthrown and the Restoration government has been established, the burden on the peasants living at the bottom of Japanese society has not been reduced, but has tended to increase!

Saigo Takamori, who was born into a low-class samurai family, was injured in a fight as a child, and his right elbow could not be fully bent, so he interrupted his martial arts studies and began to specialize in learning. It is precisely because of the injury that he "abandoned martial arts and literature" when he was a child. At the age of 16, Saigo Takamori was appointed as the secretary of the prefecture (in the Satsuma domain, it was customary for children of samurai families to work in small jobs to support their families when they reached a certain age). This habit may have been developed because of the large samurai population of the Satsuma Domain. For example, those who are good at writing will go to the military office to serve as a scholar, and those who are good at martial arts will go to the feudal school and the martial arts hall to work as an assistant teacher, in short, they will participate in various auxiliary work according to their abilities and qualifications. Saigo was a scholar due to a right elbow injury, and his calligraphy was very beautiful, so he was appointed as a county scrivener, that is, a clerk in charge of agricultural administration. Since the prefecture was in charge of collecting annual tribute (taxes) and had to go out frequently to run errands, when Saigo Takamori was appointed as the governor, the prefecture was appointed by the prefecture as Sakuda Taiji Uemon Toshiji. Forcea was a well-known hardcore among the castle samurai and had a great influence on Saigo.

Once, when he saw the misery of the peasants under the heavy taxes, he angrily wrote on the door of the government office: "Worm insect insect よいつふし草の根を断つな断たばおのれも共に枯れなん" ("Worm, worm, don't bite off the grass roots, if the grass roots are broken, everyone will wither together!"). Here, "worm" is an allusion to servants, and "いつふし草" refers to farmers who have suffered greatly from heavy taxes), and then they leave their posts.

This passage expresses the conviction that the foundation of the country is the peasantry. If the servants imposed excessively high taxes on the peasants, they would inevitably lead to their own destruction. Saigo's knowledge and experience in the field of agriculture began to be used by the feudal lord Shimazu Saibin, who embarked on a path to political and reform activities.

From then on, he linked the fate of the peasants and low-ranking samurai to himself.

Seeing the sadness on Chiho Kirino's beautiful face, Saigo Takamori said self-deprecatingly: "Hehe, it really shouldn't be for a girl of Chiho's age to understand such a painful thing!" ”

Chiho Kirino was about to answer, when there was a sudden sound of hurried footsteps outside.

"Mr. Nanzhou!"

The door of the Japanese room opened, and Chiho Kirino saw several samurai appear at the door, led by his father Kirino Toshiaki.

At this time, his father's face was full of grief, and Chiho Kirino looked at his father, and a pair of star eyes flashed a faint sadness.

In her memory, it was the first time she had seen her father like this.

"What's going on?" Saigo Takamori saw that Shinohara Kunikan and Kirino Toshiaki and the others had distressed expressions on their faces, and suddenly remembered his younger brother Saigo Norimichi, and his heart was suddenly filled with a feeling of unease.

Although he had a premonition about the failure of Saigo Congdao's "Taiwan Dispatch", he still guessed something from the sad face of his other younger brother, Saigo Kobei.

"What the hell is going on?" Saigo Takamori asked again, his voice turned hoarse.

"Brother Congdao...... ...... by Qing soldiers Killed......" Saigo Kobei couldn't hold back the grief in his heart, and finally cried.

"What?!" It was like a thunderbolt on a sunny day, and Saigo Takamori's whole body was like an electric shock, and he sat there, his eyes almost popping out of his sockets.

With a painful sigh, Kirino Toshiaki took a newspaper from Murata Shinhachi and handed it to Saigo Takamori.

Saigo Takamori took the newspaper with a trembling hand, opened it with great force, and read it as if it were a death sentence.

Soon, Saigo Takamori finished reading the newspaper, the muscles on his face became distorted because of the pain, he looked blankly ahead, and the newspaper in his hand fell down, and he was unaware.

Chiho Kirino put down the manuscript in her hand, stepped forward on her knees, and picked up the newspaper.

The first thing that caught her eye was a copper engraving, on which was a human head stuck in a wooden stake, with a wooden expression and a general's hat on his head. At the bottom of the copper engraving is the inscription "Japanese Army Lieutenant General Saigo from the Road to the First Rank", and under the annotation is a detailed commentary.

“…… According to Pulitzer, a well-known reporter for the Western Post, Lieutenant General Saigo Shomichi, the supreme commander of the Japanese Army's Taiwan Dispatch Force, had been killed in battle, and his head had been cut off by barbaric Chinese soldiers and inserted in the wooden frame of the sacred gods of the Shengfan tribe in Taiwan, which he had defeated. It is said that this was ordered by the supreme commander of the Chinese army, Lin Yizhe, the governor of Fujian Province, because he was going to sacrifice one of his wives who had died in a vendetta against the Shengfan tribe, an unfortunate woman from another Shengfan tribe. The governor spent 1,500 taels of silver to get the head from the soldiers who cut it down. ……”

Next to this text is a much smaller copper-engraved portrait of a young man in a tasseled hat, his face so handsome and delicate that it is unforgettable at first sight, it is the head of Lin Yizhe.

After reading this report that made Saigo Congdao mourn, although Chiho Kirino also felt inexplicable sadness for the dead Saigo Congdao, the story of the young Chinese governor and his Fanmin wife made her a little curious.

Saigo Takamori suddenly raised his head, opened his mouth suddenly, spurted out a large mouthful of blood, rolled his eyes, and fainted.

"Mr. Nanzhou!" Seeing Saigo Takamori vomiting blood and fainting, Kirino Toshiaki and Shinohara Kunikan and other Satsuma samurai were all shocked.

Kirino Toshiaki pounced and hugged Saigo Takamori, and everyone surrounded them, and they were at a loss for a while. At this time, only Chiho Kirino was very calm, she got up with tears in her eyes, first stopped her father and everyone from continuing to move Saigo Takamori, but used both hands to hold up Saigo Takamori's head, slowly lay him flat, lay on the ground, and then turned Saigo Takamori's head to one side, gently lowered it, and then took the pillow, raised Saigo Takamori's feet, and covered him with a quilt.

Seeing that Saigo Takamori was still vomiting blood in his mouth, she was afraid that he would swallow the blood and choke into her lungs, so she stretched out her slender fingers and vomited out the blood little by little, and then wiped the blood on the corner of Saigo Takamori's mouth with a towel.

Seeing Saigo Takamori vomiting blood and not waking up, Murata Shinhachi and several other Satsuma samurai actually shed tears.

After doing all this, Chiho Kirino hurriedly ran into another room, and after a while, took a cloth bag and placed it on Saigo Takamori's abdomen.

"What's that? Chiho? Seeing his daughter doing all this skillfully, Toshiaki Kirino suppressed the grief in his heart and asked.

"It's an ice pack, father." Chiho Kirino replied softly, "This will reduce bleeding." ”

Kirino Toshiaki understood, nodded approvingly, and didn't ask again.

"She is worthy of being the daughter of a samurai family!" Seeing Chiho Kirino so capable, Kunigan Shinohara and the others were amazed, diluting the sad atmosphere in the room.

Chiho Kirino did not express any admiration for her uncles and uncles, but continued to take care of Saigo Takamori, after she tucked Saigo Takamori's back, she came to a small cabinet, chose two of the delicate and elegant labeled small porcelain jars placed inside, opened the lid, scooped out some medicinal powder with a small porcelain spoon, put it in the bowl, and washed it with hot water.

When the water became cold, she covered the bowl with her hand and tested the temperature of the water, and after thinking that the water had cooled down, she came to Saigo Takamori's side and asked her father to gently hold up Saigo Takamori's head and gently put the medicine in the bowl into his mouth.

Saigo Takamori seemed to have regained some consciousness, and after drinking half a bowl of medicine, he slowly woke up.

"Mr. Nanzhou! ......" Seeing Saigo Takamori wake up, Kirino Toshiaki and the others all burst into tears.

"From the ......" Saigo Takamori softly called his brother's name, tears flowing.

Kirino Toshiaki and the others sat down around Saigo Takamori, all in tears.

"People can't be resurrected after death, please mourn Mr. Nanzhou!" Kirino Toshiaki said in a hoarse voice, "We must avenge Congdao!" ”

"Don't say such things...... Kirino-kun! Saigo Takamori said in a weak but firm voice.

Hearing Saigo Takamori's words, the Satsuma samurai were all stunned.

"Don't say anything to avenge your obedience!" Seeing everyone's stunned looks, Saigo Takashi let out a grand shout.

Maybe it was too much force, Saigo Takamori coughed again, and Chiho Kirino knelt beside him, stretched out a pair of pink fists, and gently pounded him on the back.

"Yes!" Seeing that Saigo Takamori was angry, Kirino Toshiaki and the others didn't dare to say any more, but lowered their heads in unison and replied loudly. Saigo's little guard, who had been sobbing all the time, was also frightened and silenced.

"You don't understand, do you?" Saigo Takamori looked at the silent group, sighed, and asked.

Toshiaki Kirino, Kunikan Shinohara and the others glanced at each other and nodded in agreement.

"It's a damn thing!" Saigo Takamori said, his emotions obviously becoming agitated again.

"It doesn't matter if he was stupid and gave his life, but he shouldn't have taken the lives of so many samurai! And it has pushed the whole country to the brink of an incomparably dangerous abyss! ”

"For the sake of his own selfish desires, he instigated and personally participated in such an adventure, which brought a terrible disaster to Japan! He's so innocent! ”

"From the Tao! You stupid man! Thankfully, you died at the hands of the enemy! Otherwise, if you come back alive, I will cut off your head with my own hands and apologize to His Majesty the Emperor!" ”

Hearing this, Kirino Toshiaki and the others all understood, and they were speechless for a while.

Thinking of the situation that Japan may face next, Toshiaki Kirino and others are also worried. For a while, the atmosphere in the room became extremely dull and depressing.

The sky suddenly darkened, adding to the heaviness of people's hearts, and Chiho Kirino raised her head and looked out the window, seeing large dark clouds appear in the sky, obscuring the sun and heralding the coming of a storm.

※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※

"Li Wenzhong's Public Collection: Abridged Q&A with the American Envoy Ai Xinmin":

"On the 10th day of the first month of this month, Ai envoys came to meet. It is said that this time passed through Japan and stayed for 18 days. When they met with the country's political officials and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, they all said that Taiwan did not want to lose peace with China, but hoped that it would be settled. Answer: China did not want to lose peace, but the Japanese soldiers copied to Taiwan in May, and for two months now, our army has not started a war with Iraq, but Iraq has attacked our army first. The Japanese soldiers were very strong, but three or four thousand people, with the Chinese soldiers, they were not afraid of the other three or four thousand, only because of the previous year, the peace treaty was exchanged, although he was rude first, I did not lose my rudeness later, let me endure patience, in fact, to preserve the peace. If the countries of Tessie were to be bullied by such neighbors, they would not be able to endure it so patiently. Unexpectedly, he was so brutal that China had no choice but to send a large army of sea and land to destroy it. China is not doing anything wrong. Ai Zhiyun: China is very tolerant, and we Westerners all admire it, and we don't want the two countries to lose peace and war, which will hinder the overall situation. Answer: Since you don't want us to lose harmony, please comment on it. Ai Zhiyun: The first paragraph of the Sino-US treaty states that if any other country does anything unfair and contemptuous, it must help each other and mediate between them. The United States and Japan also said this in the peace treaty, which is to mediate and deal with it, and after sending a copy of the credentials to Beijing for the pilgrimage, I will meet with Minister Wang of the General Administration and the Japanese minister to inquire in detail about the situation on both sides, and then to make an agreement. Answer: The reason why your envoy came to China from Japan to provoke Taiwan is well understood. How to mediate, can you sue me first? Ai Zhiyun: I didn't make a pre-judgment. However, according to the Japanese Imperial Governor, Taiwan is not under the jurisdiction of China, and Vice Island explained to the General Administration in Beijing that China could not investigate and deal with Iraq, and the two ministers of your country, Mao and Dong, agreed yes, so Japan sent troops there. Answer: Vice Island was in Beijing, and he did not personally consult with the General Administration, but he only ordered Deputy Envoy Yanagihara Maemitsu to make a few words and kill the Ryukyuan people with his life, and the country wanted to send people to investigate, but did not say that it would use troops. The General Administration of China has told that it is subordinate to the territory of China, but the temperament and customs are different, and China can investigate and deal with it. Yanagihara said that he only informed him first, not that he should investigate it. After that, the vice island did not meet again for consultation, nor did he issue a note, and he had a treacherous plan, thinking that once the document was written, China would follow the territory under our jurisdiction, and if it was investigated, he would have to wait for me to investigate and deal with it, and he could not use troops without authorization. Otherwise, countries will have intersecting with each other, and in such a major event, there will be no one who does not use the printed note as the proof of exchange. Ai Ying said with a smile: "It is very reasonable, and I think China should also restrain its people and refrain from killing outsiders, otherwise there will be no Japanese troops." Japan's dispatch of troops to attack the Chinese army was also a violation of public law, and it was only natural that the Chinese army should be annihilated. Now that the army has been destroyed, it is only up to China to deal with the aftermath, and if the two countries lose peace and exchange troops because of this, I am afraid that both China and Japan will be in great harm. Answer: The General Administration and the Governor of Fujian have both agreed to handle the aftermath, and the vice-islands and other islands are said to be ownerless and barbaric, and the country has been conscripted and naturalized, and has nothing to do with China. Let me ask if there are savage seedlings in the border areas of your country under its jurisdiction, such as Taiwan's Shengfan, can other countries be forcibly occupied? Ai Zhiyun: All Western countries have such a territory, or have been killed by refugees, and their own countries should quickly investigate and deal with them, and no one has ever been allowed to deal with the occupiers. This is contrary to public law. Answer: Japan wanted to occupy Fanfang, but it was instigated by the American Li Xiande and the American warship "Monaken" to take part in the attack on our naval division. Now that Li Xiande has been arrested, China has not broken peace with Japan on the surface, and since the noble envoy wants to mediate this matter, Li Xiande's crime should be judged first. Ai Yuanyun: Li Xian is a Frenchman living in the United States, and if he leads troops to Taiwan, it will be a violation of the peace treaty, and the United States will take care of it. Because he is still in prison in your country, he cannot be tried. However, Li Xian has long served as an Oriental official and a military counselor. There is a lot of discussion about his mastermind outside, and his crime cannot be forgiven. After being extradited back to the United States, he will be severely tried and your country will be given justice. There are many unanswered questions about the Monaken's participation in the war, and the details will be ascertained before making a decision. ”

※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※

White House, Washington, USA.

At this time, the front of the White House was full of armed military police, and opposite the military police, there was a black crowd of demonstrators.

In the crowd, the slogans on some of the big signs held high were particularly glaring.

"Remember the Monaken!"

"Avenge the Monaken!"

"Kill all the yellow skins!"