The streets of Kyoto have the crowding, hustle and bustle, and vibrancy that can be found in a peaceful and prosperous Japanese city.

That's right, it's vitality! Although Japan is still a feudal country in seclusion. But Chinese who have been to this ancient capital of Japan or have been to Osaka and Edo have to admit it. There is no lifeless scene to be seen here.

The narrow streets of the city are crowded with people in various costumes, and merchants dressed in elaborate silk costumes are smiling faces Wishing you prosperity, beckoning customers in front of their shops. Armed with long swords, swords struck in groups of dojos that dotted the city – these dojos resembled the Ming academies, teaching not only the art of slashing people, but also the knowledge of Western studies, military studies, Chinese studies, Confucianism, and Neo-Zhu studies (i.e., the knowledge of Emperor Zhu). Like Edo and Osaka, Kyoto had a large number of samurai, and many Japanese feudal clans, large and small, had residences in Kyoto, including the Tokugawa shogun. The residences of these feudal lords included retainers who were responsible for dealing with the imperial court.

The politics of Japan is characterized by the dual system of emperor and shogun. The imperial court in Kyoto seems to be an unbeatable little powerhouse, which has lost power for almost 1,000 years, but it is still cheeky and refuses to go down on the stage. Over time, it became a habit, and no general who held the country would knock the emperor off the throne and sit on the throne himself. And when the general's authority is weakened or the general's succession is disputed, this nominal court always has to jump up and down to be active in order to show its existence and fight for more rights.

In the Edo period, which was inaugurated by Tokugawa Ieyasu, after the first few decades, old people who had experienced the turmoil of the Warring States period passed away one after another. The shogunate's politics gradually shifted from arbitrariness to civil rule. Confucianism, which advocated loyalty, was gradually integrated into Japanese bushido because of the promotion of the shogunate and the Mito domain. Therefore, in the Warring States Period, the status was very low, and the royal family and ministers who often did not have enough to eat. In the Edo period, when the Tokugawa family ruled the world, his status grew. If history has not changed. The prestige of the Japanese Imperial Court was further enhanced by the Movement to Honor the Emperor and the Movement to Combine the Martial Arts, and eventually became a banner in the hands of the Shogunate faction......

It was through the Emperor, the nominal supreme ruler of Japan, that the low-level samurai, who were of humble status and had only one sword, would gradually seize power after the successful fall of the curtain, turning Japan and all of Asia into a stage for them to display their talents and ambitions—like all other countries, such talented careerists from the bottom will always be more dangerous than the "children of the Eight Banners" who are high above. Of course, this danger is for neighbouring countries.

Emperor Zhu, who knew little about the history of Japan's end of the Edo period through cartoons, has always adhered to the line of going to the upper echelons. Help the Tokugawa family, a famous samurai family whose fighting spirit has long been worn out by the rich and prosperous life, maintain their rule, and prevent the ambitious and energetic low-level samurai from seizing power.

A Japan with a middle and lower strata full of vitality and a dead upper strata would not become a powerful militaristic apparatus even if it had opened the country and embarked on the capitalist road.

The lady sat in a spacious and bright carriage, observing the familiar street through the glass windows. Both sides of the street are full of all kinds of shops, no less than Shanghai and Yingtian, and I don't know how much more lively than Beijing. There is just no trace of industrialization in sight. There are no tall chimneys spewing black smoke, no whizzing trains. There are no Western-style high-rise buildings either. Even Western-style horse-drawn carriages are a rarity, attracting curious glances when walking through the streets, and it is clear that such carriages are very rare in Kyoto.

"Your Majesty the Queen, the Emperor of China is really ...... Are you really ready to support Tokugawa Ieyuki's hairy child? ”

The voice of the emperor's attendant, Iwakura Goshi, suddenly sounded in the ears of the lady, who had gone to Osaka to meet the lady at the emperor's behest. Now he was not sitting in the carriage, but walking on foot beside the carriage, talking to the lady through the open window.

"Yes, Daimei hopes that Japan can maintain stability, and he believes that once turmoil arises, it may not only endanger the shogunate, but even threaten the imperial court, and it is not impossible to republic."

"Republic?" Iwakura was stunned for a moment, he also knew that this kind of system without a king and a father was also known, but then he laughed, "How is it possible, how can Japan be a republic...... The Emperor is a family of eternity, and now all those who are disappointed in the shogunate are pinning their hopes on His Majesty the Emperor! ”

"Disillusioned with the shogunate? What are you doing? ”

"How can you not be disappointed? In just a few years, China has driven out the Tartars, revived the Ming Dynasty, set up industry, revitalized Western learning, opened up territory in Mobei, and opened up land in Nanyang. And what am I doing in Japan? A combination of public and military forces was unsuccessful, and there was a baby general and an idiot general...... No matter who becomes the general, Japan will not have a chance to exert itself in 20 years. And 20 years from now, who knows what will become of this world, and whether Japan will be able to catch up? ”

The lady queen was speechless. She actually didn't care much about national affairs, she came back to Japan just to do things for Emperor Zhu.

Iwakura continued: "Now Japan's hope lies in His Majesty the Emperor, and the only way to do this is to implement the combination of public and military forces as soon as possible, follow the example of the Ming Dynasty, implement the constitutional government of the monarchy, and establish a unified country......

This set of theories was not first put forward by Iwakura Gushi, in fact, the shogunate had been clamoring to follow the example of the Ming Dynasty and establish a constitution before the Tokugawa family had a stroke, but the shogunate's version of the constitution was a hypocritical constitution headed by the Tokugawa clan. At that time, the imperial court did everything possible to resist, and finally survived until Tokugawa Ieke fell ill and died, and now he has come up with a real monarchy constitution to compete with the Tokugawa clan.

"And in order to implement the constitutional government of the monarchy, there must be a general who can govern, and the old man must be the only suitable person."

What can an idiot do? The lady queen is very familiar with the "idiot", because there are many such idiots in the Imperial Family. These people can't even take care of themselves, and it is impossible for them to take care of government affairs, so how can they lead the combination of public and military forces if they let such a person be a general?

Such a person is afraid that he will not be able to do anything but discredit the shogunate. It seems that these days, the Japanese court is really unwilling to be lonely!

The Lady Queen sighed, and just as she didn't know what to say, she seemed to feel the sound of neat footsteps on the ground. The boom sounded from afar, then it got closer and closer, and it got louder and louder. This is......

The lady poked her head out of the carriage and looked out into the street behind the carriage, where the voice came. I saw only the soldiers of the brigade, lined up in four columns, dressed in neat and new military uniforms, with rifles on their shoulders. The footsteps were raised high, and then fell neatly, and the goose steps of the European-style military drill walked neatly and rolled over with a rumbling, just like the brocade guards of the Ming Dynasty! But looking at their military uniforms, they have a strong Japanese design, and their military flags are the Tokugawa family's Mitsuba Aoi and Hinomaru!

"Dedede...... Soldiers of the Sichuan family! This is the Tokugawa family's soldiers! How did you drive into Kyoto? "I still had an idea just now that I could use it against the Tokugawa family, and I didn't even say anything this time.

"They...... They seem to be going...... Of the Imperial Palace! "The lady also stammered, and the soldiers of the Tokugawa family didn't know when they arrived in Kyoto, and judging by the direction they were traveling, it was not Nijo Castle, but the imperial palace of His Majesty the Emperor!

"This, this, how is this possible! How could they drive the army into Kyoto and go to the Imperial Palace, and what did they want to do? Is the Tokugawa family going to rebel? Is the Tokugawa family crazy!? ”

Looking at the new army of the Tokugawa family, which was constantly moving forward and could not be counted, Iwakura Gushi was almost fainting, and his head was full of cold sweat, is this going to smash the plate and stop playing? Could it be that the Dao Daochuan family no longer wants to coax the emperor and the imperial court to play the trick of the king's favor and loyalty, but wants to seek the dynasty to usurp the throne?

Thinking of this, Iwakura Gushi began to take off the princess's clothes and prepare to escape quietly...... (To be continued......)