And Kido Takayo has the courage to take responsibility at such a moment, and compared with Okubo Ritsu, his realm is superior to judgment.

Seeing Kido Takayoun's uncomfortable appearance, Ito Hirofumi hurriedly got up and stepped forward to support him, but unexpectedly, Kido Takayo grabbed his hand.

"Let's go......" Kido Takayo stared at him deadly, his lips trembling and he spat out such a vague sentence that was completely out of line with the current scene.

"What do you say? Songju? Hirobumi Ito asked in surprise.

"Let's go...... Come on! Kido Takayo suddenly roared, and a mouthful of blood sprayed onto Ito's face.

"Ahh - Ito Hirobumi screamed violently and sat up from the bed.

Ito Hirobumi first looked at his hands, then touched his face with his hands, and found that there was no blood, and then he breathed a sigh of relief.

Although I knew that it was a dream, the feeling of the blood spurted by Kido Takayo just now splashed on my face and hands was so clear!

At this time, it was still late, and a bright moon hung high in the night sky, and after Ito Hirobumi was awakened by a nightmare, he no longer felt sleepy, so he got up in his clothes and read a book.

Ito Hirobumi read the book for a while, but his mind could not be calm, because somehow, the scene of Kido Takayo warning himself and vomiting blood always unconsciously appeared in front of his eyes.

Could it be that this dream is giving me some inspiration?

Or rather, something happened to Mr. Songju......

Thinking of this, Ito Hirobumi felt anxious for a while, he wanted to visit Kido Takayo, who had been seriously ill, but it was late at night, so he took the liberty of going to disturb him. It's not very good......

Just when Ito Hirobumi was fidgeting. There was a sudden knock on the bedroom door.

"Your Excellency. Hurry up, please! Kido-sama...... Otherwise! The Kido family sent someone to report it, and asked the adults to move to the hospital immediately! The anxious voice of the servant came from the door.

Hirobumi Ito's surprise was not trivial, "Hurry up and prepare the carriage!" He shouted as he got dressed.

A four-wheeled carriage with the chrysanthemum pattern of the Japanese royal family hurried through the night-shrouded street under the escort of several cavalrymen, and it was still dark, and there were no pedestrians on the street, only the patrolling police, who saw the horse-drawn carriage rushing by. There was a look of surprise on their faces.

It can be said that it is very rare for the carriage of the royal family to travel at this time. Unless something big happens.

After the fall of Osaka by the Satsuma Army, Tokyo was in shock, and in order to prevent the infiltration and sabotage of enemy spies, the government imposed a curfew for the first time since the Meiji Restoration, and all personnel and vehicles were prohibited from traveling at night, except for the vehicles of the imperial family and the government.

But at this time, the police would not have imagined that sitting in this carriage was the god-like supreme ruler of Japan, Emperor Meiji.

Meiji Emperor Muhito, who was sitting in a carriage, could not look out through the thick curtains of the carriage (the emperor is a god. It is not allowed to be exposed to the public), so that it is impossible to know where the carriage is now. Now he can only endure the anxiety in his heart and sit there like a puppet.

He had just received a report that Kido Takayo was critically ill, and he was so anxious that he got up overnight, got in a carriage and went straight to the hospital.

"Mr. Songju, you have to wait for me!" Emperor Meiji secretly said in his heart, "Japan, you can't live without Mr. Matsuki!" ”

After a while, when the carriage finally stopped at the entrance of the hospital, Emperor Meiji jumped out of the carriage and went straight to the hospital without waiting for the help of the guards.

Emperor Meiji came to Kido Takayoshi's hospital room, and Kido Takayoshi's wife, Matsuko, who had received the news, immediately rushed out and bowed to the emperor.

"Madame, don't be polite." Seeing Mrs. Matsuko, Emperor Meiji first stepped forward quickly, raised his hand, motioned for Matsuko to get up, and then immediately asked with concern, "How is Mr. Matsuki?" ”

Emperor Meiji has always had a deep respect for Mrs. Matsuko.

Lady Matsuko was a geisha who was known for her beauty and her flute and singing skills, and at the end of the Edo period, Kyoto was flocked to Kyoto by the people who respected the king and fought for the curtain, and they often held meetings at Matsuko, including Katsura Kogoro of Choshu, later known as Kido Takayoshi. Kido Takayoshi has been in contact with Matsuko since he met him. But he was not wealthy, and legend has it that he used to rob others by force because he had no money to meet with Matsuko.

Kido Takayo has always wanted to settle for Matsuko since he fell in love with Matsuko, but he has been worried about not having money for a long time. When Kido Takayoshi's best friend, Hirobumi Ito, who is also from Choshu, heard about this, he put a knife on his mother-san's neck and finally forced her to leave Matsuko as a geisha. At that time, Matsuko was only 20 years old, and Kido Takayoshi was 30 years old. Because Matsuko was able to support the family and raise the family, and the cost of registering was very high, they bought a house in Kiyamachichi as a separate house, and after settling down, Matsuko continued to work as a geisha, which was also convenient for gathering information at the gatherings of the king.

On June 5, the first year of Genji occurred, the "Ikedaya Incident" occurred, and Kido Takayoshi escaped due to his late arrival, after which Kido Takayoshi fled to the Tsushima Domain. On July 19, the "Forbidden Gate Rebellion" broke out, and the Changshu radical faction raised troops into Beijing and set fire to the Choshu Mansion after the defeat of the Forbidden Gate. In order to evade pursuit, Kido Takayoshi disguised himself as a beggar and lurked under the Nijo Bridge. Matsuko passed by Nijo Bridge in disguise as the merchant's daughter after the merchant had made the rice balls, and then pretended that the package containing the rice balls had been inadvertently lost under the bridge and delivered it to Kido Takayoshi to provide him with food. Thanks to the rescue of Matsuko, Kido Takayo was able to escape the pursuit and survive.

Because of this legendary story, Emperor Meiji and his family respected Mrs. Matsuko very much.

"Thanks to Your Majesty's care, Mr. has only eaten a few bites of food today, but it is very difficult to eat. After that meal, he lay down and never got up again, never took another bite of food. Mrs. Matsuko endured her grief and replied respectfully, "He said that he wanted to see His Majesty, but he was sick and could not walk, so it was my own opinion, I invited His Excellency Ito to come, and asked His Excellency Ito to play on His Majesty's behalf, but I didn't expect His Majesty to come in person, it is really a ......great imperial grace."

"Is the gentleman awake now? Can we meet? Emperor Meiji asked.

"It should be possible." Mrs. Matsuko replied, "Your Excellency Ito, Your Excellency Okubo, and Your Excellency Okuma are all inside......"

"Hurry up and take me to Mr. Songju." Emperor Meiji said.

Madame Matsuko led the way, and Emperor Meiji followed her into the ward, and when the emperor appeared in the ward, Okubo Ritsu, Ito Hirobumi, and Okuma Shigenobu, who had been gathered around the bed, immediately stood up and bowed to the emperor.

Emperor Meiji waved his hand and motioned for everyone to be excused, and then walked lightly to Kido Takayoshi's bed.

At this time, Kido Takayoshi described it as withered and very haggard, but his eyes were still bright, and he stared straight at the ceiling with a blank expression, as if he was thinking about something.

"Songju, do you want to eat something?" Mrs. Matsuko came to the bed, endured her grief, and asked softly.

Kido Takayo shook his head slowly: "I don't want to eat it." Emperor Meiji saw that his voice was so small that he could barely hear it clearly, and he couldn't help but feel sad in his heart, and the corners of his eyes were a little moist.

"Songju, His Majesty the Emperor has come to visit you." Mrs. Matsuko said softly.

As if an electric current had been injected into Kido Takayo's body, his body shook violently, and he let out a heavy moan, and then he turned his head and saw Emperor Meiji, the look on his face disappeared and a smile of relief appeared.

"Your Majesty......"

"Mr. Songju, what do you have to say to me?" Emperor Meiji knew that Kido Takayoshi was now on the verge of death, so he asked eagerly.

"State affairs are difficult, Your Majesty must take care of your health, don't think too much as your ministers, suffer from brain disease, and want to serve the country but can't." Kido Takayo sighed and said earnestly.

"Mr. Songju, in this situation, is there a good way to teach me?" Emperor Meiji couldn't wait to ask Kido Takayoshi about his plan, although he also heard that Kido Takayoshi had captured Osaka after hearing that Saigo Takamori had captured Osaka, and in a hurry, he said, "Enough is enough!" Xi! Then he vomited blood and fell into a coma.

"Although the thief army is strong, and then the whole army is supported by sea, if it can be cut off by the navy, it is bound to not last long, then our army can gather troops and take it calmly." Kido replied.

"Now that the two ironclad ships of the main force of the navy are all obtained by the thieves, the strength and weakness are easier, how can they be defeated?" Emperor Meiji asked again.

"The navy of the thief army is mostly old ships, and there are only two new ships, which were secretly seized from our navy, and the sailors are not familiar with them, and it is difficult to master them for a while. At present, the government has purchased new ironclad ships, and the financial resources are insufficient, so it can lease one or two ironclad giant ships from the western navy and hire its officers and men to assist our navy in combat. Kido replied.

Hearing the method given by Kido Takayoshi, Emperor Meiji hesitated, and the faces of Hirobumi Ito and Shigenobu Okuma were also cloudy, only Okubo Ritsu's eyes gave a strange light.

"What Mr. Shoju said is the method of 'borrowing troops from the West', but ......" Emperor Meiji was interrupted eagerly by Kido Takayoshi before he finished speaking.

"What Chen Shicai said is the method of 'renting troops to the West', not 'borrowing troops from the West', please remember that Your Majesty has the right to do it yourself, and the matter of renting troops is limited to renting the navy, one or two ironclad ships, and the officers and soldiers who are attached to it, and you must not rent its army!" Kido Takayo was in a hurry, and coughed loudly, "Land warfare, pay the soldiers of the East China Sea!" The thieves in the southwest, the heroes in the east can be leveled! It doesn't have to be in the hands of foreign troops! (To be continued......)

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