The important role of the imperial court headed by the emperor in the process of the fall of the curtain was deeply impressed by Okubo Ritsu. He firmly believed that in order to be able to lead the country in the future, the emperor must first "renew" the old evils of the imperial court, and in order to do so, it was necessary to sever ties between the emperor and Kyoto, which symbolized the old evils, and to create an emperor character that could adapt to the new era. After the establishment of the Meiji government, the relocation of the capital and the change of the Yuan Dynasty all reflected his thinking.

After the Meiji government completely eliminated the shogunate power, Okubo Ritsu first served as a senator for the new government and then as secretary of the treasury. The Iwakura mission visited Europe and the United States, accompanied by Okubo Ritsu. During the tour, Bismarck, Prussia's "iron-blooded prime minister," made the deepest impression on Okubo Ritsu, and he believed that Japan could only act like Bismarck if it wanted to become rich and strong.

While Okubo was visiting Europe and the United States, the left-behind government led by Saigo Takamori advocated invading Korea in order to divert the dissatisfaction of the Shi clan with the government. Okubo Ritsu immediately returned to China after receiving the news, and on the issue of "conquest of Korea", Okubo Ritsu was by no means a pacifist. He only felt that Japan did not yet have the conditions for foreign expeditions, and the most urgent task at the moment was to get a good grasp of learning from the West, vigorously promote the policy of "colonizing and revitalizing industry," and accelerate the pace of Japan's capitalist industrialization. So Okubo Ritsu and Iwakura Gushi combined to use their political skills to defeat the Korean faction led by Saigo Takamori and drive them out of the center. This political struggle is known in history as the "October Coup d'état in the 6th year of the Meiji era". From then on, an autocratic political system was established with Minoru Sanjo as the Prime Minister, Iwakura Gushi as the Right Minister, and Okubo Ritsu as the Secretary of the Interior.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs was formally established in the sixth year of the Meiji era, and Okubo Ritsu served as Minister of Internal Affairs as a senator. He concentrated the powers of the six departments of persuasion, police security, household registration, post delivery (i.e., postal service), civil engineering, and geography, as well as the survey department, into his own hands. The scope of Okubo Ritsu's jurisdiction covers all aspects of "Farming and Industrial Development". During his tenure as Secretary of the Interior, he created the administrative organization of the Meiji government, which consisted of the central bureaucracy of the ten provinces of Foreign Affairs, Internal Affairs, Treasury, Army, Navy, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Industry, Justice, and Imperial Interior. As a result, the Ministry of Internal Affairs under the leadership of Okubo Toshimitsu was the center, and together with the Ministry of Finance controlled by Shigenobu Okuma and the Ministry of Industry under Hirobumi Ito, a three-in-one leadership system was formed in Japan to promote the policy of promoting the development of agriculture.

When Okubo Ritsu came to power, he embarked on the path of autocratic rule. He ruthlessly suppressed all revolts. Emperor Shimazu Hisamitsu, the former owner of Satsuma Domain, who had been dissatisfied with the return of the copyright and the abolition of the domain, put forward 14 proposals opposing various reforms and demanding that Okubo be removed from his post. Of course, reformers such as Okubo Ritsu could not accept it, and counterattacked the conservatives, and Shimazu Hisamitsu was forced to retire. While Shimazu and other old feudal forces were engaged in anti-government activities internally, the opposition gentry, who were strongly dissatisfied with the various bourgeois reforms of the Meiji Restoration, openly launched an armed rebellion against the government. The first to be launched was the "Saga Rebellion" in February of Meiji 7, led by Eto Shinpei and Yoshitoshi Shima. As a result, it was severely suppressed by Okubo Ritsu.

Okubo Ritsu had a cold-blooded personality and an iron fist similar to Bismarck's, and because of his political differences, he was able to put his early political partner Shinchi Arima to death. And when Shimazu Hisamitsu, a great benefactor, couldn't keep up with the times, he was also kicked away. Although Emperor Meiji admired his talents, he did not like him, so he could not talk about absolute trust in him.

Compared to Okubo Ritsu, Emperor Meiji preferred Saigo Takamori, a "samurai model" who was upright by nature. In the eyes of Emperor Meiji, Takamori Saigo, who believed that "nothing should be said to anyone", was far more lovely than Okubo Ritsu, who loved to play tricks.

This time, Okubo Toshitsu instructed Kawaji Toshira to send the "Tokyo Lion" to Kagoshima to assassinate Saigo Takamori, which was inappropriate in the eyes of Emperor Meiji. Until now, although there were various indications that the samurai of Kagoshima were preparing for a rebellion, there was no evidence that Saigo Takamori was involved, and it was not only unrighteous but also contrary to the bottom line to assassinate Saigo Takamori without evidence and Saigo Takamori did not violate any national law.

Emperor Meiji, who had experienced the "pain of losing his father", had an instinctive aversion to political assassination, and he was extremely wary of this.

Wasn't his father, Emperor Takamei, assassinated by the radicals of the Restorationists because he had a good personal relationship with Shogun Tokugawa Yoshiki and advocated the concept of "combining public and military forces"?

Emperor Komei was assassinated because he disagreed with the ideas of the Restoration, so if Emperor Meiji, the biological son of Emperor Komei, deviated from his philosophy of governing the country, would they have decisively assassinated him?

Today, Okubo Ritsu can use such a technique against Saigo Takamori, so will he use the same technique against himself tomorrow?

Seeing Okubo Ritsu's calm and calm appearance, the anger in Emperor Meiji's heart gradually ignited, he calmed down, and said in a deep voice: "Kawajiqing, Saigo Qing said in the seal that the assassin is from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, is that so?" ”

Hearing the emperor's unkind words, the face of the chief police officer, Kawaji Toshira, suddenly turned purple.

"Your Majesty, the sacrifices this time are all righteous martyrs who are loyal to Your Majesty!" Kawaro Toshira said loudly, "They risked their lives to infiltrate Kagoshima and send back valuable information, but they were captured and killed by hateful thieves, and Saigo Yoshinosuke's seal is a complete insult to them!" Please also ask Your Majesty to investigate ......"

"What I want to know now is why did they assassinate Saigo? Who gave them the order? Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by an angry shout from Emperor Meiji, "Kawajiqing, did you tell me that you sent them to Kagoshima to assassinate Saigo?" ”

"Your Majesty! They did it all for Your Majesty! For Japan! Kawaro Liliang said eagerly.

"Chuan Luqing, answer my question! Did you send it out? Emperor Meiji stared at Kawaji Toshira and asked sharply.

Kawaji Toshira suddenly lost the momentum he had just now, lowered his head, and did not dare to look at the emperor's fiery eyes.

"It's not! Your Majesty! After hesitating for a while, Kawaro Toshira replied, "The minister only sent them into Kagoshima to spy on Saigo Yoshinosuke, and did not give them the order to assassinate. The reason for this is that they should have taken action spontaneously out of righteous indignation......"

Hearing that Kawaro Toshira put all the blame on the dead "Tokyo Lions" and picked himself clean, a trace of disdain flashed in Yamaguchi Youpeng's eyes.

――――Dividing Line――――

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